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GENERAL CUSTER AND HIS SCOUTS. [Page 218. 



FOLLOWING THE GUIDON 



BY 



ELIZABETH B. CUSTER 

\ 

AUTHOR OP "BOOTS AND SADDLES" ETC. 



ILLUSTRATED 




AUG 23 1890" 

-'^v ■} CJ O ' ", 



NEW YORK 

HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE 

1890 



;?M. / 



Copyright, 1890, by Hahper & Brothers. 
All rights reserved. 



< 



TO 
ONE WHO HAS FOLLOWED THE GUIDON 

INTO THAT REALM WHERE 

"The war -drum throbs no longer 
And the battle -flags are furled.'' 



PREFACE. 



Before beginning the s.tory of our summer's camp on 
Big Creek, Kansas, I should like to make our bugle a more 
familiar friend to those who know it only by hearsay. It 
was the hourly monitor of the cavalry corps. It told us 
when to eat, to sleep, to march, and to go to church. Its 
clear tones reminded us, should there be physical ailments, 
that we must go to the doctor, and if the lazy soldier was 
disposed to lounge about the company's barracks, or his in- 
dolent officer to loll his life away in a hammock on the gal- 
lery of his quarters, the bugle's sharp call summoned him to 
" drill " or " dress parade." It was the enemy of ease, and 
cut short many a blissful hour. The very night was invaded 
by its clarion notes if there chanced to be fire, or should 
Indians steal a march on us, or deserters be discovered de- 
camping. We needed timepieces only when absent from 
garrison or camp. The never tardy sound calling to duty 
was better than any clock, and brought us up standing ; and 
instead of the usual remark, " Why, here it's four o'clock al- 
ready !" we found ourselves saying : " Can it be possible ? 
There's ' Stables,' and where has the day gone ?" 

The horses knew the calls, and returned from grazing of 
their owm accord at " Recall " before any trooper had started ; 
and one of them would resume his place in the ranks, and 
obey the bugle's directions as nonchalantly as if the moment 
before he had not lifted a recruit over his head and depos- 
ited him on the ground. 

The horses were often better tacticians than the soldiers, 



VI PREFACE. 

for it frequently happened that one of them had served our 
country through one enlistment of five years, and was well on 
through another when assigned to a recruit who had never 
before mounted. The intelligent beast, feeling himself in- 
sulted by being called upon to carry a green trooper, seemed 
in very scorn to empty the saddle. I sometimes thought 
the wise animals thus disposed of their riders and went back 
to the line, as if to say, " I'll teach that greenhorn that I 
know military life better than he does." 

In large posts, like Fort Leavenworth or Fort Lincoln, 
there was a corps of trained buglers, and it was a surprise 
to strangers that such good music could be evolved from in- 
struments with so few notes. On a summer's day the sound 
of the buglers came wafted to us from some divide over the 
plain, where they had gone to practise, and hoped to deaden 
the sound. Though the bugles might blow, they could not 
*' set the wild echoes flying " out there, for we had neither 
the rocky fastness nor the hill alid dale of Scotland or Switz- 
erland. I should have liked to transport a band of our 
drilled buglers to the land of Roderick Dhu. The clans 
could have been summoned for miles by the clear reverber- 
ating notes, and there the stirring music, reproduced by en- 
chanting echoes, would have been far finer than on our mo- 
notonous plains. 

In the telling of this story of our summer's camp there is 
often reference to both the trumpet and the bugle. When 
I was first in the army the bugle was used for the infantry 
and cavalry, but later the trumpet was given to the mounted 
regiments. In this way it has occurred that the names have 
been used indiscriminately. The difference between them 
may be sufficiently indicated by calling the bugle the tenor 
and the trumpet the barytone of military music. 

The soldiers, for no one knows how long, have fitted 
rhymes to the calls, and as the men pour out of the barracks 
to groom their horses for the morning or the evening hour 



PREFACE. VH 

a voice takes up the call, to be quickly joined by others, and 
after the bugles cease the humming of " Go to the stable," 
etc., continues until the sergeant gives the signal for work 
to begin with the curry-comb. A few of these jingles have 
been attached to the calls that were in most frequent use 
during the day. The words of these simple rhymes are just 
as familiar to military people as the household tales of in- 
fancy, and as indelibly impressed on an army child as "Twin- 
kle, twinkle, little star," or " Now I lay me down to sleep." 

The calls that are in almost daily use head the chapters 
throughout the book. Possibly a few of them may need 
some explanation. " Reveille " is the first roll-call of the day. 
The morning gun is fired as the first note sounds. The sol- 
diers all come out of their quarters, and the sergeant calls 
the names alphabetically, and reports to the captain the whole 
company as " present, or accounted for," or certain ones as 
" absent without leave," etc. There are three of these roll- 
calls during the twenty -four hours — at Reveille, Retreat, and 
Tattoo. "Retreat" sounds at sunset, when the flag is lower- 
ed and the evening gun is fired at the last note of the call. 
"Tattoo" is sounded about nine o'clock, and soon after comes 
" Taps " — a signal to extinguish lights. "Assembly " is the sig- 
nal for forming the company in ranks, and precedes the three 
calls described above. "The General" is the signal for pack- 
ing up, striking tents, and loading the wagons for marching. 
"Boots and Saddles" is the first signal for mounting. 

As there was a great deal of formality and "circumstance" 
about all these calls, and not the slightest infringement of 
the dignity of the routine was permitted, the rhymes which 
the soldiers made, in their rollicking off-hand fashion, were 
most violently in contrast with the solemnity of the martial 
forms to which they were attached. 

The infantry mess-call evidently dates back a long time, 
as the soldiers' words to the drum-call for mess are " pease 
upon a trencher." " The dirty, dirty, dirty dough-boy " — the 



Vlll PREFACE. 

origin of whicli is referred to in Boots and Saddles — is also 
an infantry call. 

It often happened that the soldiers changed their names 
in enlisting, and sunk their identity in the ranks of our army ; 
but sometimes even there an irate wife, who had been de- 
serted in the States, found out her culprit husband, and com- 
pelled him to send her money out of his pay for her support. 
Or, in another instance, though the man may have been angry 
enough, at the time of his enlistment, to feel that he would 
never return to his virago of a wife, he eventually melted 
when attacked with nostalgia, and confided to his comrades 
that he was married. It must have been on some such oc- 
casion that a scoffer suited these lines to the marching step 
in the drill, which begins " Left foot forward " always : 

" Left — left — left my wife and seven small children behind me." 

There is a legend that women never keep step. One of 
my friends, who is now a civilian, and the commanding officer 
of only one small woman, marshals his trooper out when 
husband and wife go for a stroll, repeating the old lines of 
volunteer days. I imagine that a sergeant who drilled the 
men was the original poet, for the order of march runs after 
this fashion : 

" Left — left — left — had a good home and he left I" 

Then, referring to the step : 

"Now you've got it, d n you, keep it — left — left — left!" 

Some children having asked questions to which I could 
not reply, I was obliged, not long since, to visit the Astor 
Library to look up answers. I give a condensed summary of 
the results of my research. One of the old books I consulted 
had not had many readers, I imagine, for as I turned the mil- 
dewed, musty pages armies of tiny creatures chased each 
other to and fro in wild alarm, while bookworms were eating 
out the foundations of the volume. Still, unconsulted as 



PKEFACE. IX 

Grose's Military Antiquities seems to be, I found informa- 
tion there that must have some interest for a cavalryman. 

The trumpet, of which our bugle is the sister, seems to 
antedate all musical instruments, as it appeared on the Egyp- 
tian bass-relief at Thebes, and was also used by the Israel- 
ites. The trumpets of the Romans were both straight and 
crooked. A shell bored at the end, and a horn with the point 
removed, were the most primitive forms of the instrument. 
The tuba, represented in the bass-reliefs of the triumphal 
arch of Titus, was a kind of straight bronze clarion, about 
thirty-nine inches long. Fra Angelico (1455) painted angels 
with trumpets with straight or zigzag tubes, the shortest 
being five feet in length. A change from the straight tube 
of the trumpet to one bent into three parallel lines was made 
about the middle of the fifteenth century. Luca della Robia 
represents the tube bent back in that way, and this shape 
was retained for more than three hundred years. A capis- 
trum, or muzzle, was used by the ancients to preserve their 
cheeks in blowing the trumpet. Trumpets were in use dur- 
ing the crusade of 1248. 

At one time the hautboy and kettle-drums were used in 
mounted regiments. There is, even now, one of the latter, 
captured from the English in the Revolutionary War, at the 
Military Museum on Governor's Island. 

Hinde, in his Discipline of the Light Horse, says : " In 
the year 1764 his Majesty thought proper to forbid the use 
of brass side-drums in the Light Cavalry, and in their room 
to introduce brass trumpets ; the trumpets are slung over 
the left shoulder and hang at theii backs." 

Grose says : " The banners of the kettle-drums and trump- 
ets to be of the color of the facing of the regiment ; the 
badge of the regiment or its rank to be in the centre of the 
banner of the kettle-drums, as on the second standard ; the 
King's cipher and crown to be on the banner of the trump- 
ets, with the rank of the regiment in ciphers underneath ; 



X PREFACE. 

the depth of the kettle-drum banners to be three feet six 
inches ; the length four feet eight inches, exclusive of the 
fringe ; those of the trumpets to be twelve inches in depth and 
eighteen inches in length. The trumpets to be of brass ; the 
cords to be crimson mixed with the color of the facing of the 
regiment; the King's Own Regiment of dragoons and the 
Koyal Irish are permitted to continue their kettle-drums." 

The chief beats of the drum formerly used by the infan- 
try, according to Colonel Bariffe (1643), w^ere a Call, a Troop, 
a Preparative, a March, a Bataille, a Retreat. 

" By a Call, you must understand to prepare to hear pres- 
ent proclamation, or else to repair to your ensign ; by a 
Troop, understand to shoulder your muskets, to advance 
your pikes, to close your ranks and files to their order, and 
to troop along wdth or follow your oflBcer to the place of 
rendezvous or elsewhere ; by a March, you are to understand 
to take your open order in rank, to shoulder both muskets 
and pikes, and to direct your march, either quicker or slower, 
according to the beat of the drum ; by a Preparative, you 
are to understand to close to your due distance for skirmish, 
both in rank and file, and to make ready, that you may exe- 
cute upon the first command ; by the Bataille, or Charge, 
understand the continuation or pressing forward in order of 
bataille without lagging behind, rather boldly stepping for- 
ward in the place of him that falls dead or wounded before 
thee ; by a Retreat understanding an orderly retiring back- 
\vard, either for relief, for advantage of ground, or for some 
other political end, as to draw the enemy into some ambush- 
ment, or such like." 

" The present different beats of the drum," says Grose, 
" for the infantry are these : 

" The General : this is beat instead of the Reveille, when 
the whole camp and garrison are to march. 

" Reveille : beat at daybreak to awaken the camp or gar- 
rison, after which the sentinels cease challenging. 



PREFACE. XI 

" Assembly, or Troop : at this beat tlie troops fall in, the 
roll is called, and baggage loaded. 

" Foot March : to march. 

" Grenadiers' March : beat only to that company. 

" Retreat : this is beat at sunset in garrisons and at gun- 
firing in camp, at which time the pickets are formed ; in 
fortified places it is a signal for the inhabitants to come in 
before the gates are shut. 

" Tap-too [our modern name is tattoo] : the signal for 
soldiers to retire to their quarters or barracks, and to the 
sutlers to draw no more liquor, from whence it derives its 
name. The tap-too is seldom beat in camp. 

" To Arms : a signal to summon the soldiers to their 
alarm-posts on some sudden occasion. 

" The Church Call (called also Beating the Bank) : a beat 
to summon the soldiers of a regiment or garrison to church. 

" The Pioneers' Call : known by the appellation of Round 
Heads, come dig. This is beaten in camp to summon the 
pioneers to work. 

" The Sergeants' Call : a beat for calling the sergeants to- 
gether to the orderly-room, or in camp, the head of the colors. 

"The Drummers' Call : beat to assemble the drummers at the 
head of the colors, or in quarters, at the place where it is beaten. 

" The Preparative : a signal to make ready for firing. 

" The Chammade : a signal to desire to parley with the 
enemy. 

" The Rogue's March : this is beaten and played by the 
fifes when a soldier is drummed out of the regiment. 

" The Long Roll : for turning the regiment out in camp 
or garrison. 

" There was in the King's household an officer titled 
Drum-major-general of England, without whose license no 
one could, except the King's troops, formally beat a drum." 

The different sounds or signals given by the trumpet were, 
according to Markham, in his Soldires Accidence^ as follows : 



Xll PREFACE. 

" The first is Butte Sella [modern Boots and Saddles], or 
put on your saddles, which, as soon as the souldiere heareth 
(in the morning or other times), he shall presently make 
ready his horse and his own person, trusse up his sack of 
neccessaries, and make all things fitting for his journey. 

" The second is Mounte Cavallo, or mount on horse backe, 
at which summons the souldiere shall bridle up his horse, 
bring him forth, and mount his backe. 

" The third is A la Standarde : goe to your colours, or 
standard, whether it bee standard, cornet, or guidon ; upon 
which sound, the souldiere, with those of his fellowship, 
shall trot forth to the place where the cornet is lodged, and 
there attend until it is dislodged. Also this sound, in the 
field or in service, when men are disbanded, is a retreat for 
the horseman, and brings him off being engaged ; for as oft 
as he heares it he must retire and goe back to his colour. 

" The fourth is Tuquet, or march ; w^hich beinge hearde 
simply of itself without addition, commands nothing but 
marching after the leader. 

" The fifth is Carga, Carga, or an alarm, charge ! charge ! 
which sounded, every man (like lightning) flyes upon his 
enemy and gives proofe of his valour. 

" The sixth and last is Aquet, or the Watch : which, 
sounded at night, commands all that are out of duty to their 
reste ; and sounded in the morning, commands those to reste 
that have done duty, and those that have rested to awake 
and doe duty ; and in these sounds you shall make the soul- 
diere so perfect that, as a song he may lanquet o? sing them, 
and know when they are sounded unto him." 

The instruments used in battle are mentioned in a quaint 
ballad of King Edward III., made on the victory over the 
Scots at Hallidowne Hille, in which are these lines : 

" This was do with merry sowne, 
With pipes, trumpes, and tabers thereto, 
Aiid loud clariones thei blew also." 



PREFACE. Xlll 

In the prose account of the same battle we read : *' Then 
the Englische mynstrelles beaten their tabers and blewers 
their trompes, and pipers pipe clene loude and made a great 
schowte upon the Skotles." 

The guidon told the soldiers in color what the trumpet or, 
bugle said in sound. If, after a long march, the men of 
each company detailed to carry the guidon were ordered to 
the front, the hearts of the weary troopers saw them depart 
with relief, for it meant that, after joining the commanding 
officer, the little band of men swinging aloft the fluttering 
pennants would take their place behind the color-sergeant 
carrying the guidon of the colonel, and after a brisk little 
gallop each standard-bearer would be posted at a given point 
to guide the company as it came up to the place where the 
tents were to be pitched for the night. The guidon is also 
posted as a line of march at guard mount, or at drill. The 
private flag of a general can be of his own design. It is 
placed in front of his tent or headquarters, or follows on the 
march or in battle. If the troopers value their general, and 
have faith in him as a dauntless soldier, they will rally round 
his flag in case the fight is so desperate as to endanger the 
colors. 

Markham, an old authority, says : " The guidon is the 
first color any commander of horse can let fly in the field. 
It was generally of damask fringed, and usually three feet in 
breadth, lessening by degrees towards the bottom, where it 
was by a slit divided into two peaks. It was originally 
borne by the dragoons,* and might be charged with the ar- 
morial bearings of the owner." 

The present cavalry guidon is a small United States flag 
sharply swallow-tailed, and mounted on a standard with a 
metal point, so that it can be thrust into the ground when 
in use as a marker. 

* Troops trained to act on foot or on horseback. 



CONTENTS. 



OHAP. TAGE 

I. THE MARCH INTO THE INDIAN TERRITORY .... 1 

II. GENERAL CUSTER'S LETTERS DESCRIBING THE MARCH 11 

III. WHITE SCOUTS 24 

IV. BATTLE OF THE WASHITA 35 

V. INDIAN TRAILS, COUNCILS, AND CAPTIVES .... 51 

VI. IN CAMP ON BIG CREEK . 66 

VII. INDIAN PRISONERS 83 

VIII. CORRAL OF THE CAPTIVES 98 

IX. PETS OF THE CAMP , . 112 

X. A SLOW MULE-RACE 131 

XI. TALES OF soldiers' DEVOTION AND DROLLERY . . 147 

XII. WILD BILL AS A MAGISTRATE 159 

XIII. HOME OF THE BUFFALO 178 

XIV. FIRST WOMEN TO HUNT BUFFALOES ...... 194 

XV. HUNTING RECORDS 213 

XVI. ARMY HOUSE-KEEPING 226 

XVII. NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION 241 

XVIII. '^ GARRYOWEN " LEADS THE HUNT 263 

XIX. ARMY PROMOTIONS 278 

XX. A FLOOD ON BIG CREEK 289 

XXI. RATTLESNAKES AS NEIGHBORS 299 

XXII. DANDY 324 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



GENERAL CUSTER AND HIS SCOUTS Frontispiece. 

INDIANS PREPARING TO MOVE faccs page 6 

INDIANS ON THE WAR-PATII " " 18 

CALIFORNIA JOE " " 26 

RECONNOITRING THE SITUATION " "38 

INDIAN PRISONERS ON THE MARCH '' "46 

DISTRIBUTING THE MAIL " "54 

INDIAN VILLAGE " " 92 

CAPTURED CHIEFS — FAT BEAR, DULL KNIFE, BIG 

HEAD — IN TRAVELLING COSTUME " " 106 

A SCALP-LOCK " " 112 

WARRIOR IN WAR-BONNET " " 120 

THE SCOUT " " 164 

SHOOTING BUFFALO FROM CAR-WINDOWS . . . . " " 184 

BUFFALO BROUGHT TO BAY " "206 

paymaster's ESCORT " " 286 

DANDY " "324 



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FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 




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We arc the bo3's that take delight in 
Smashing the Limerick lights when lighting, 
Through the streets like sporters fighting 
And tearing all before us. — Chorus. 

We'll break windows, we'll break doors, 
The watch knock down by threes and fours; 
Then let the doctors work their cures, 
And tinker up our bruises.— Cnoiius. 

We'll beat the bailiffs out of fun, 
We'll make the ma3'or and sheriffs run; 
We are the hoys no man dares dun, 
If he regards a whole skin. — CnoRUS. 

Our hearts so stout have got us fame. 
For soon 'tis known from whence we came; 
Where'er we go they dread the name 
Of Garryowcn in glory. — Chorus. 



FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 



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CHAPTER I. 

THE MAECn INTO THE INDIAN TERRITORY. 

Around many a camp-fire in the summer, and in our 
winter-quarters before the huge fireplaces, where the 
wood merrily crackled and the flame danced up the 
chimney, have I lieard the oft-told tales of the battle 
of the Washita, the first great fight of the Seventh 
Cavalry. The regiment was still new, liaving been or- 
ganized during the year after the war. It had done 
much hard work, and had not only accomplished some 
genuine successes in a small way, but its records of 
long untiring marches in the chill of early spring, dur- 
ing the burning heat of a Kansas summer sun, and i'n 
the sharp frosts of a late autumn campaign, were some- 
1 



2 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

thing to be proud of. Still, the officers and men had 
little in the way of recognized achievement to repay 
them for much patient work, and they longed individ- 
ually and as a regiment for a war "record." This 
would not have been so powerful a desire had not the 
souls of our men been set on fire by the constant news 
of the torture of white prisoners by the Indians. His- 
tory traces many wars to women ; and women certainly 
bore a large though unconscious part in inciting our 
people to take up arms in attempts to rescue them, and 
to inflict such punishments upon their savage captors as 
would teach the Indian a needed lesson. 

From the Department of the Platte, which has its 
headquarters in Nebraska, to the Indian Territory and 
Texas the trails of the regiment could be traced. It is 
customary to keep a daily record of each march, and a 
small pen-and-ink map is added. From these a larger 
one is made after the summer is over, and when the 
War Department issues yearly maps the new routes or 
fresh discoveries are recorded. One of these regimen- 
tal journals lies before me. The map for each day 
marks the course of the stream, the place where the 
regiment encamped overnight, the "ford," the "roll- 
ing prairie," " high ridges," " level prairie," with dots 
to mark the line of the Pacific Eailway, in course of 
construction ; " small dry creek," " marshy soil," " level 
bottom," "stone bluff," etc.. One of the written rec- 
ords goes on to state where, as the days advanced, the 
troops encamped at night without water, and all the 
men and horses had to drink was got by digging down 



THE MARCH INTO THE INDIAN TERRITORY. 6 

into the dry bed of a stream ; or where, at anotlier time, 
they found a "stream impassable," and " halted to build 
a bridge," together with such hints of experience as 
these : " struck an old wagon trail "; " marched over 
cactus-beds and through a deep ravine "; " made camp 
where there was standing water only"; "banks of 
stream miry — obliged to corduroy it"; "grass along 
tlie stream poor, sandy soil"; banks of next stream 
"forty feet high — great trouble in finding a crossing"; 
" obliged to corduroy another stream for each separate 
wagon"; "took four hours to cross twenty wagons"; 
"timber thick, grass poor"; "struck what is called by 
the Indians Bad Lands, being a succession of ridges 
with ravines fifty feet deep between ; two wagons rolled 
over and went down one ravine "; " passed four ranches 
destroyed by the Indians and abandoned "; " left camp 
at 5 A.M. ; so misty and foggy, could not see a hundred 
yards in advance ;" "distance of march this day guessed, 
odometer out of order"; "marched up a canon with 
banks fifty feet high"; " Company E left the columns 
to pursue Indians"; "all this day marched over Cap- 
tain S 's old trail"; "this was a dry camp, poor 

grass and plenty of cacti"; "found water-holes, the 
head of the river"; "total distance of march, seven 
hundred and four miles." 

The names of the streams, the elevated points of 
ground, or the gulches were seldom taken from the 
musical nomenclature of the Indian ; they seemed to 
have been given by the outspoken, irreverent pioneer 
or miner. 



4 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

Evidently, if these first wayfarers had difficulty in 
making a crossing of a stream, they caused the name 
to record the obstacles. Our refined officers sometimes 
hesitated in their replies if asked by peace commission- 
ers from the East, whom they were escorting to an Ind- 
ian village, what the place was called. For instance, 
one of them said when he replied to such a question, 
" Hell Eoaring Creek," etc. He looked out over the 
surrounding scenery till the effect of these shocking 
names had passed. A humorous Western paper, in 
commenting on this national idiosyncrasy, wonders, 
since the law requires that our national cruisers shall 
be called after cities, if " You Bet," " Hang Town," 
"Ked Dog," " Jackass Gap," and "Yuba Dam" would 
answer. The worst of it all is that these names, given 
by a passing traveller with careless indifference to the 
future of the places on which they vrere bestowed, rest 
as an incubus upon localities that afterwards became 
the sites of places of prominence ; and it is as hard for 
a town or region so afflicted as for the traditional dog 
to get rid of a bad name. 

The brief itinerary of this one march, out of the many 
the Seventh Cavalry made, gives a faint idea of the 
daily history of a regiment. Concise as is the record, 
it served to point the way for many a tired pioneer 
who came after ; for, on his map, compiled from these 
smaller ones, were the locations of places where he 
could stop for wood and water, as well as the warning 
where neither of these necessaries could be obtained. 

Still, there was often a weary sigh among the young- 



THE MARCH INTO THE INDIAN TERRITOEY. 5 

sters who had no war record, and who longed to make 
some sort of soldier's name for themselves. Besides, 
they passed the dismantled, deserted home of many a 
venturesome frontiersman ; they saw the burned stage 
stations ; they met in forts or small settlements placed 
in a safe position ranchmen whose wives had been 
killed, or, worse still, made captives; they came upon 
the mutilated and horribly disfigured bodies of Lieu- 
tenant Kidder and eleven soldiers ; everywhere on all its 
marches the regiment followed the trail of the Indian 
on his frightful career of rapine, murder, and outrage. 
Many a time the question was asked, what was the good 
of galloping after foes who knew the country thor- 
oughly, who w^ere mounted on the fleetest, hardiest ani- 
mals in the world, that needed no grain, and who could 
go directly to rivers or streams where they could graze 
their ponies for a few days and start off refreshed for 
a long raid, and who each day could be bountifully fed 
on the game of the country without being hampered 
with a train of supplies. The odds were all against 
our fine fellows. 

They had marched and countermarched over the 
country so constantly that the wit of the regiment said 
to the engineer officer who made the daily map : "Why 
fool with that? Just take the pattern supplement of 
the Harper's Bazar^ and no better map of our marches 
could be found." 

Much enthusiasm was felt when the announcement 
was made that a winter campaign was to be under- 
taken. "Now we have them !" was the sanguine boast. 



6 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

The buffalo-linnting among the tribes was over for the 
year. Enough meat had been jerked or dried to keep 
them during cold weather, and the villages were estab- 
lished for the winter. In the summer the tribes trav- 
elled great distances. As soon as the grass in a riv- 
er valley was exhausted by the ponies, everything was 
packed, the village moved, and another point was chos- 
en. At certain seasons of the year there was a jour- 
ney to timber lands, where lodge poles could be cut; 
another was made to certain clay-beds, where material 
for pipes was obtained ; another to regions where the 
buffaloes were most numerous, and the winter's meat 
was prepared, or the hides dressed for robes or tepee 
covers. It is difficult to estimate the hundreds of miles 
that the villages traversed in the summer; but in the 
winter a remote spot was chosen, on a stream where the 
timber offered some protection from the winter storms, 
and the grass would last longest, and here the nomad 
"settled down" for a few months. It was such a vil- 
lage that our regiment was seeking. 

The command starting into the Indian Territory was 
formidable enough, and had not the Indians been much 
emboldened by former successes, they would not hav^e 
dared dash upon the rear-guard or rush in from a ravine 
to stampede the animals of the wagon train, as they 
often did on that march. 

General Custer, in an unpublished letter to a friend 
in the East, describes the fii-st attacks of the Indians af- 
ter the march south began. "I had not been in my 
camp where I first joined two hours, when we Avere 



l^' ^AiA^ 




THE MARCH INTO THE INDIAN TERRITORY. 7 

attacked by a war party. I wisli that you could have 
been with us. You would never ask to go to a circus 
after seeing Indians ride and perform in a fight. I 
took my rifle and went out on the line, hoping to obtain 
a good shot, but it was like shooting swallows on the 
wing, so rapid were they in their movements. Their 
object had been to dash into camp and secure some of 
our horses. Disappointed in this, they contented them- 
selves with circling around us on their ponies, firing 
as they flew along the line, but doing no injury. As it 
was late in the evening and our horses all unsaddled, I 
prevented the men from going from camp to fight. 
Sometimes a warrior, all feathered and painted, in order 
to show his bravery to his comrades, started alone on 
his pony, and with the speed of a quarter-horse would 
dash along tlie entire length of my line, and even with- 
in three or four hundred yards of it, my men pouring 
in their rifle-balls by hundreds, yet none bringing down 
the game. I could see the bullets knock up the dust 
around and beneath his pony's feet, but none apparently 
striking him. We shot two ponies, however, in this way, 
and may have inflicted greater damage ; but in this as 
in all things pertaining to warfare, the Indians are so 
shrewd as to prevent our determining their losses. Oc- 
casionally a pony is captured. I have one now which 
is white, with a tail dragging on the ground. We have 
also captured an article of great value to them, an Ind- 
ian shield. It is made of the thickest part of the buf- 
falo-hide, adorned with rude paintings, and is usually 
hung in front of a tepee to keep off evil spirits." 



8 FOLLOWmG THE GUIDON. 

It gave tlie men excellent practice, this running fire 
on the march. The necessity for troops was so great 
that raw recruits were sent out, without taking time 
to drill them in target practice. It came to pass that 
many a soldier drew his carbine on an Indian in the 
first shot he had ever fired. A corps of forty sharp- 
shooters was formed from men who day by day showed 
unusual skill in the use of fire-arms, and these were al- 
lowed some privileges, such as being marched as a sep- 
arate organization, which of itself is a great favor. It 
is far from agreeable to submit to the irksome rules of 
a marching column. No guard or picket duty was ex- 
pected from these sharp-shooters, so that they attained 
what is the supreme good of a soldier's life, "all their 
nights in bed." The soldier detailed for guard duty 
has two hours on and two off for twenty-four hours, 
and unless the command is large these times of duty 
come very often — in the estimation of the men. 

In looking over some of the war poetry that filled 
the papers from 1861 to 1865, I came across a little 
jingle that describes a soldier's glory and grumbling, 
whether he be fighting the white or the red man : 

"And how we fouglit and how we tramped, 
Too long a tale perhaps I'll spin ye ; 
But, first and last, I think we camped 
In every field in old Virgiuny ! 

" 'Twas a gay old life, but Lord ! 'twas hard- 
No rest for the good, no peace for the wicked ; 
When you didn't fight you were put on guard, 
And when you came off you went on picket." 



THE MARCH INTO THE INDIAN TERRITORY. 9 

On the expedition the cavahy marched in a column 
of fours ; then came a long wagon train, hauling the for- 
age, tents, rations, and extra ammunition, and following 
all this was the rear-guard. The great struggle of the 
Indian when not actually ready for battle — which he 
never is unless all odds are in his favor — is to cut off the 
wagon train ; this he tries to accomplish by frightening 
the mules. Sometimes the country admitted of the 
wagons being marched in four lines — an arrangement 
which required fewer soldiers to be deployed on either 
flank and in the rear for their protection. 

In letters to his Eastern friend, from one of which 
quotations have been made. General Custer speaks with 
the greatest enthusiasm of the stag and fox hounds his 
correspondent had given him. The former were a new 
breed to him, and their feats, while only puppies, were 
daily marvels to their proud owner. 

"Maida and Blucher both seized the first buffalo they 
saw while running, which was pretty plucky for pups, 
I think. The dogs have gone beyond my highest ex- 
pectations. Three days ago Maida alone ran down a 
jack-rabbit and killed it, and they are the fleetest ani- 
mals we have, except the antelope. Yesterday while 
looking for camp, accompanied by a few scouts "^and 
headquarters men, we jumped a prairie-wolf. Maida 
and Blucher, Rover and the other little fox-hound, start- 
ed after it, the stag-hounds, of course, leaving the other 
two far behind. Blucher was the first to come up with 
the wolf; he had never seen one before. As soon as 
he reached it he seized it across the back, and never 



10 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

relinquished his hold until he had killed it, and this he 
did by breaking its backbone. Blucher held on like a 
bnll-dog. A wolf is one of the ugliest animals a dog 
can handle. Of the many dogs that are in this regi- 
ment there is but one that will attack a wolf, and he 
needs to be encouraged. Don't you think that is pret- 
ty good for a pup? The other day all the dogs went in 
chase after a jack-rabbit quite out of sight. An offi- 
cer mounted and started after them, and met the dogs, 
Blucher at the head carrying the rabbit in his mouth. 
What do you think of a stag-hound as a retriever?" 



IReveUle, 




I can't get 'cm up, I can't get 'em up, I can't get 'em up this 



i 



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:S=J: 



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?i=5: 



morn - ing ; I 



can't get 'em up, I 
S7id. 



can't get 'em up, I 



-y- 



can't get 'em up at 
« = 



all. 



The corp'ral is worse than the 



I 



pri - vate, The ser - geant's worse than the cor - p'ral, The 

^ ^ D.C. 



1^ 



lieut's worse than the sergeant, And the captain is worse than them all. 



CHAPTER II. 

GENERAL CUSTEr's LETTERS DESCRIBING THE MARCH. 

I HERE make some extracts from many of my own 
letters from General Custer, in the belief that they will 
make the daily life on the march, and in camps w^hich 
were established for nnavoidable delays, on the journey 
into the Indian Territory clearer than it would other- 
wise be to the reader, who knows little of the progress 
of a military expedition. 

Fort Hays, Kansas, October 4, 1868. 
I breakfasted with General Sheridan and the staff. The 
general said to me, " Custer, I rely upon you in everything, 



12 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

and shall send you on tliis expedition without giving you 
any orders, leaving you to act entirely upon your judg- 
ment." 

The expedition will consist of eleven companies of caval- 
ry, four of infantry, and two howitzers, accompanied by a 
large train. 

Forty-two Miles from Fort Dodge, October I8th. 

We have been on the war-path but one week. I joined 
the regiment near our present camp a week since, and within 
two hours the Indians attacked camp. We drove them away, 
killing two ponies. That night I sent out two scouting par- 
ties of a hundred men each, to scour the country for thirty 
miles round. 

I never heard of wild turkeys in such abundance. AYe 
have them every day we care for them, and there are five 
dressed in the mess chest now. All the men have them, and 
in one day eighty were killed. Tom shot five in a few mo- 
ments. 

Now I want to tell you about my splendid stag-hounds. 
The other day Maida caught a jack-rabbit alone. Yester- 
day she and Blucher took hold of a buffalo, and to-day, as 
we came into camp, Blucher started a wolf and caught it 
alone. Within half an hour a jack-rabbit was started near 
camp. My three stag-hounds. Flirt, Blucher, and Maida, and 
two greyhounds, went in pursuit. 

We could see the chase for nearly a mile, and it was a 
pretty sight ; then they disappeared over a hill. The officers 
are constantly trying to buy the stag-hounds of me. 

I wish that Eliza* was out here to make some nice rolls in- 
stead of the solid shot our cook gives us. 

Tell Eliza she is the "awfulest" scold and the most " quar- 



* Eliza was our colored cook who was with me at Fort Leaven- 
worth. 



LETTERS DESCELBING THE MARCH. 13 

relsomest " woman I ever met. She and the man who waits 
on the table have constant rows.* 

Twelve Miles from Dodge, October lid. 
We will probably remain here ten days before moving 
towards the Washita mountains. Some of the officers think 
that this may be like others before it — a campaign on paper ; 
but I know General Sheridan too well to think that he will 
follow any such example; he does not readily relinquish an 
idea. The general has sent to the Osage Indians to employ 
them on our side ; they will be a profitable assistance. 

Odober 24, 1868. 

The general has finally decided upon a winter campaign. 
If we cannot find the Indians, and inflict considerable injury 
upon them, we will be on the wing all winter. We are going 
to the heart of the Indian country, where white troops have 
never been before. The Indians have grown up in the belief 
that soldiers cannot and dare not follow them there. They 
are now convinced that all the tribes that have been committing 
depredations on the plains the past season have gone south, 
and are near each other in the vicinity of the Washita mount- 
ains. They will doubtless combine against us when they find 
that we are about to advance into their country. 

To-day I gave the regimental saddler directions how to 
make me a large pair of saddle-bags. They will contain 



* This cook was the only woman on tbe expedition. She had 
been a camp woman many years, and was tanned and toughened 
by "roughing it." She was perfectly fearless, but the life had sad- 
l}^ affected her temper. Even her brave husband (that is, brave in 
battle) approached her guardedly if anything went wrong. When 
the expedition was attacked at one time, she was cooking by a 
camp-fire, and was heard to mutter when a bullet passed her by, 
" Git out, ye red divils ye," and went on with her work as if noth- 
ing were happening. 



14: FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

nearly all that I desire to carry, and can be put on my led- 
horse. 

The men are at target practice, and it sounds like a battle. 
All the officers of the regiment are now learning signals. 
Books have been furnished us from Washington. I found all 
the line-officers to-day in the classes. Most of the officers 
can now converse quite readily as far as they can see the 
signals. This is just the country for signalling. Nature having 
formed admirable signal stations over this part of the terri- 
tory. General Sheridan, in his letter yesterday, said furloughs 
would be given to every enlisted man who would do well. 

Camp "Sandy" Forsyth, November Zd. 

You see I have named our camp after the brave " Sandy." 
I suppose that you have seen considerable excitement to-day 
over the Presidential campaign. I do not presume that of 
the many hundreds of men here a dozen remembered that to- 
day is Election Day, so little is the army interested in the 
event. I have been quite busy coloring the company horses. 
Don't imagine that I have been painting them ; but I have been 
classifying all the horses of the regiment, so that instead of 
each company representing all the colors of the rainbow by 
their horses, now every company has one color. There are 
pure bays, browns, sorrels, grays, and blacks. 

This morning I ordered " Phil " saddled, and rode up the 
valley looking for a new camp.* I was accompanied by my 
inseparable companions, the dogs (except Flirt, who is lame). 
When about three-quarters of a mile from camp, I discovered 
a large wolf lying down about half a mile beyond. Calling 
the four dogs — Rover, the old fox-hound, Fanny, the little fox- 
hound, Blucher, and Maida — I started for the wolf. 



*When the earth becomes much trodden, and it is difficult to 
keep camp clean, it is customary to move on for a short distance 
to fresh ground. 



LETTERS DESCRIBING THE MARCH. 15 

When within a quarter of a mile he began to run. The 
two stag-hounds caught sight of him, and away went the 
dogs, and away went Phil and I, full chase after them. The 
fox-hounds, of course, could not begin to keep up. 

Before the wolf had run three-quarters of a mile Maida 
had overtaken him. She grappled with him at once and 
threw him over and over ; before he could regain his feet or 
get hold of Maida, Blucher dashed in upon him, and he was 
never allowed to rise afterwards. These two puppies killed 
the wolf before Rover and Fanny could reach the spot. I 
had put Phil to his mettle, and was near at hand when the 
wolf was caught. Blucher and Maida were perfectly savage ; 
each time they closed their powerful jaws I could hear the 
bones crunch as if within a vice. There did not seem to be 
a bone unbroken when the dogs had finished him. All the 
officers and men were w^atching the chase from camp. 

We started a jack-rabbit just at evening, and all the dogs 
joined in. I never saw any race so exciting. The dogs sur- 
pass my highest expectations. All four are lying on my bed 
or at my feet. I have a pair of buffalo overshoes, the hair 
inside, and I am to have a vest made from a dressed buffalo 
calf-skin, with the hair on. When we were encamped near 
Dodge I sent the tailor, Frank, in to buy some thread and 
buttons. He came home very " tight," and when I asked him 
if they kept thread and buttons in bottles at the sutler store, 
he answered me in droll broken English that made me shout 
with laughter. 

November 1th. 
I want to tell you something wonderful. A white wom- 
an has just come into our camp deranged, and can give no 
account of herself. She has been four days without food. 
Our cook is now giving her something to eat. I can only 
explain her coming by supposing her to have been captured 
by the Indians, and their barbarous treatment having ren- 



16 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

dered lier insane. I send lier to-niglit, by the mail party, to 
Fort Dodge. I shall send by the paymaster a live pelican, to 
be presented to the Audubon Club in Detroit. It is the first 
I ever saw. It measures nearly seven feet from tip to tip, 
and its bill is about ten inches long. One of my Cheyenne 
scouts caught it in the river near camp. He first struck it, 
and stunned it long enough to effect its capture. 

Camp on Beaver Creek (100 Miles from Dodge), Nov. 21, '68. 

The day that we reached here we crossed a fresh trail of 
a large war party going north. I sent our Indian scouts to 
follow it a short distance to determine the strength and di- 
rection of the party. The guides all report the trail of a 
war party going north-east, and that they evidently have just, 
come from the village, which must be located within fifty 
miles of us in a southerly direction. Had the Kansas vol- 
unteers been here, as was expected, my orders would then 
have allowed me to follow the back trail of the war party 
right to their village ; and we would have found the latter in 
an unprotected state, as their warriors had evidently gone 
north, either to Larned or Zarah, or to fight the Osage or Kaw 
Indians, who are now putting up their winter meat. We did 
not encounter an Indian coming to this last point, which 
proves that our campaign was not expected by them. To- 
night six scouts start for Dodge with our mail and despatch- 
es for headquarters. 

November 22d. 

It lacks a few moments to twelve ; reveille is at four, but 
I must add a few words more. To-day General Sheridan 
and staff, and two companies of the Kansas volunteers, ar- 
rived. I move to-morrow morning with my eleven compa- 
nies, taking thirty days' rations. I am to go south from here 
to the Canadian River, then down the river to Fort Cobb, then 
south-west towards the Washita mountains, then north-west 
back to this point, my whole march not exceeding two bun- 



LETTEES DESCRIBING THE MARCH. 17 

dred and fifty miles. Among the new horses sent to the regi- 
ment I have selected one, a beautiful brown, that I call " Dan- 
dy." The snow is now five or six inches deep and falling 
rapidly. The general and his staff have given me a pair of 
buffalo overshoes, a fur cap with ear lappets, and have offered 
me anything they have, for winter is upon us with all its 
force. 

As a winter's campaign against Indians was decid- 
edly a new departure for our regiment, and, indeed, at 
that time for any troops, and as this one ended with 
a notable victory for our people, it was the subject of 
many conversations on the galleries of our quarters, at 
the fireside, and around our dinner-tables for years af- 
terwards. Certain ludicrous affairs fastened themselves 
on ofl&cers seemingly for all time. For instance, one 
night during the winter, when the regiment was away 
from its base of supplies, tents, and luggage, except what 
could be carried on the horses, the troops were obliged 
to sleep on the ground, and blankets were so scarce that 
everybody took a " bunkey," officers and all, in order 
to double the bedding. One very small ofi&cer rolled 
himself against the back of a huge man, six feet four 
inches high, who on other windy nights had served as 
a protection ; but he did not combine every virtue, and 
when it was botli windy and cold he had the inhumanity 
to turn in the night, and leave the poor little dot of an 
ofi&cer entirely uncovered. This is never thought to be 
an agreeable thing for a bedfellow to do, but on a bitter 
winter night, when the only awning over the victim was 
the starry sky, it was such a trial that the manner in 
2 



18 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

which the sufferer told of his woes the next morning 
made him the laughing-stock of his comrades all winter 
and long afterwards. 

Officers will run almost any risk to get a bath, but 
the way in which two of our brave fellows retreated 
from their toilet was also for years kept as a standing 
subject of jesting. I believe tliat it was their first and 
only retreat. In going into the Indian country the 
officers sometimes relaxed vigilance for a time. Per- 
haps days would pass with no sight of Indians. At 
such a time these two daring fellows went down the 
stream some distance to bathe, and to their delight 
found water deep enough in which to swim. They for- 
got everything in the enjoyment of clear water, for 
many of the streams west of the Mississippi are muddy 
and full of sand. Their horses saved their lives. Their 
attention was called to the telltale ears, quivering and 
vibrating, the nervous starts and the snorts that many 
old cavalry horses give at sight of Indians or buffaloes. 
Heeding these warnings, the bathers sprang to the 
bank. Within a few hundred yards of them Indians 
approached. There was no pause for clothes or for 
saddles. Unfastening their horses, and with a leap that 
would have done credit to a circus rider, they sprang 
upon the bare backs of the terrified horses, and digging 
their naked heels into the sides of the animals, they 
ran a race for life. Fortunately, the Indians came from 
a direction opposite that of the camp, but they had the 
temerity to follow with all the speed of their swift ponies 
until almost witliin sight of the troops. Our officers' 



LETTERS DESCRIBING THE MARCH. 19 

perfect horsemanship and the fright of the animals 
saved their lives. As the Indians yelled behind them, 
and finally sent their almost unerring arrows whizzing 
about the ears of our t\vo men, they had little idea of 
escape. When they entered camp, if there had been a 
back way, an alley, a tree-bordered walk, through which 
these lately imperilled men could have reached their 
tents, it would have been a boon ; but everything in 
military life is en evidence^ and the camp is often laid 
out in one long line. Past all these tents, where, at the 
entrance of each, appeared at once the occupants, on 
hearing the unusual sound of horses' flying hoofs with- 
in the company street, and in the face, indeed, of all 
the regiment, these nude Gil pins reached their own can- 
vas, and flinging themselves from their foaming horses, 
darted under cover. Then came the scramble for other 
clothes, wdiich was a very difficult affair, as few officers 
carried extras, save underclothes, and the quartermaster's 
supplies were at Camp Supply, far in the rear. But 
every one shares freely with a comrade on the frontier, 
and a pair of pantaloons from one, a jacket from an- 
other, a cap from a third, fitted out the unfortunates. 

Later a misfortune happened to one of these same 
men, our brother Tom, which bade fair to oblige him 
to adopt the costume of his red brethren — a blanket and 
a war-bonnet. His favorite dog. Brandy, the most te- 
nacious of bull-dogs, refused to let go of a polecat that 
he had chased, with the dog delusion that it was a rab- 
bit. Colonel Tom plunged into the fight in an effort 
to drag Brandy off, when the animal used the defence 



20 FOLLOWING THE GUmON. 

that nature has provided, and Colonel Tom's clothes 
were gone the second time. He realized that with tliis 
adventure added to his late aquatic episode, which had 
been followed by a deluge of jokes from his brother 
officers, there would be no mercy shown him, and he 
quickly decided to share with the others his unsought 
baptism. It was nearly dark ; the tents were closed, 
the candles lighted, the pipes at full blast. Captain 
Hamilton, whose sense of fun wms irrepressible, started 
out with the victim of misfortune to pay visits. Sev- 
eral of the tents were crowded, but both of the visitors 
being jolly men, room was made for them ; but soon 
there was a general sniffing around and forcible exple- 
tives used about the dogs. "They've been hunting on 
their own hook again," was said, " and pretty close 
here, you bet ;" and hands were stretched out for some- 
thing with which to drive the creatures out. The 
guests having made sure the aroma Tom carried had 
become sufficiently apparent, departed, only to enter 
another crowd farther on. A tent is supposed to be 
well ventilated ; but fill one with officers whose tobac- 
co, obtained far away from a good base of supplies, is, 
to say the least, questionable, add the odor of rain- 
soaked clothes, the wet leather of troop boots, a dog or 
two with his shaggy, half-dry coat, and one can well 
imagine that Colonel Tom was the traditional "last 
straw." 

When the pair had been in the second tent long enough 
to have the joke take effect, they bolted out into the 
night, roaring with laughter, and then went on to a 



LETTERS DESCRIBING THE MARCH. 21 

third. The jeers of the officers next day were some- 
what toned down because of the evening episode, but 
poor Tom was around, begging for clothes again, and 
soon every one knew that his own outfit lay " without 
the camp " for all time. 

Arrests are not at all unusual in military life, and 
the discipline is so strict it often happens that this 
punishment is inflicted for very small delinquencies. 
Sometimes, of course, it is a serious matter ; a set of 
charges is preferred, and a trial by court-martial and 
sentence ensue. Still, to be in arrest is so common 
that it is not in the least like the serious affair of civil 
law. If an officer was missed from the line that win- 
ter, and inquiries made by his comrades for him, his 
messmate or captain, laughing lightly, replied, " Why, 
don't you know he's leading the pelican?" and this ex- 
pression, as a synonym for being in arrest, stayed by the 
regiment for a long time after the bird had gone. 

The pelican General Custer refers to in the letter 
already quoted was a rare specimen, and all the com- 
mand had great curiosity about it, considering it was 
unusual in the country where it was captured, and it 
was also the first specimen most of our command had 
seen. The bird was carried in a box in the wagon train 
that always travels at the rear of a column, and as an 
officer or soldier is condemned to this ignominious po- 
sition also, when deprived of his place with his com- 
pany, it became the custom to describe arrest as " lead- 
ing the pelican." 

A perfect fusillade of wit was always being fired at 



22 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

men to whom accidents had happened or on whom 
jokes had been played. One unfailing subject for bad- 
inage was the matrimonial opportunities neglected in 
the winter's campaign. After the battle, the old squaws 
were as full of admiration for the successful troopers as 
they were for their liege lords, and the w^illingness to 
part with their daughters was quite equal to that of 
the predatory mother in the States, who is accused of 
roaming from one watering-place to another in search 
of game. But the primitive mother and father resort 
to no subtle plan ; they offer their daughters outright. 
One officer was proffered a dusky bride by her father, 
and a cup of sugar was asked for in exchange ; while 
the commanding officer, after hearing a mysterious 
mumbling going on near him, found himself already 
married, before any formal tender of the girl had been 
made by the parents. It was with difficulty that the 
fathers and mothers were made to understand that 
among white people a man was required by our laws 
to content himself with one partner at a time. 

There were many references to the scouts in Gen- 
eral Custer's letters, and the subject was an unfailing 
source of interest to me, so much romance attends the 
stories of these men's lives. Osage Indians were em- 
ployed, being not only at peace with us, but imbittered 
against the Indians by the marauding of hostile tribes 
on their herds of ponies and their villages. 

I find a few words about these friendly Indians in a 
letter General Custer wrote to a friend at that time : 
"Yesterday my twelve Osage guides joined me, and 



LETTEKS DESCRIBING THE MAKCH. 23 

they are a splendid-looking set of warriors, headed by 
one of their chiefs called 'Little Beaver.' They are 
painted and dressed for the war-path, and well armed 
with Springfield breech-loading guns. All are superb 
horsemen. We mounted them on good horses, and to 
show us how they can ride and shoot, they took a stick 
of ordinary cord -wood, threw it on the ground, and 
then, mounted on their green, untried horses, they rode 
at full speed and fired at the stick of wood as they fiew 
by, and every shot struck the target." 



^be 6eneral. 



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CHAPTER III. 



WHITE SCOUTS. 



The scouts and friendly Indians were an indepen- 
dent command that winter, and afforded much inter- 
est and variety to the whole regiment. They each re- 
ceived seventy-five dollars a month and a ration, and 
whoever took the regiment to an Indian village was 
to receive one hundred dollars additional. 

A half-breed Arapahoe boy was the beauty of the 
command. He was nineteen years old ; his eyes, large, 



WHITE SCOUTS. 25 

soft, and lustrous, were shaded by long lashes. I had 
been amazed at the tiny feet of the Delawares the sum- 
mer before, but this lad's feet were smaller, and the 
moccasin showed them to be perfect in shape. His 
hair was long and black. He was educated, but it was 
a disappointment to me in hearing of him to find that 
he called himself Andrew Jackson Fitzpatrick. "With 
the ardor of a novel reader, I should have preferred at 
that time that he should lift the fringes of his soulful 
eyes in response to a Claude or a Reginald. Indians 
not only lose their picturesqueness when they encoun- 
ter the white man, but they choose the most prosaic 
names in place of their own musical appellations. 
Think how " Running Antelope," or " the Eagle that 
flies," or "Fall Leaf" would have suited this boy. 

One of the scouts had a nickname that ought to 
have pleased the most romantic, but the trouble in his 
case was that he did not fit the name. His real name 
was Romero, for he was a Mexican, and the officers 
soon dropped into calling him Romeo. His short, 
stocky figure, swarthy skin, and coarse features made 
him a typical " Greaser," and quite the replica of many 
we had seen in Texas ; but Romeo had lived with the 
Indians and spoke Cheyenne. 

Another scout was a ^ew Yorker by birth, who emi- 
grated to Michigan in 1836, thence to Texas, and final- 
ly to Kansas. He was over fifty, and gray-headed. It 
is surprising how wonderfully men no longer young 
endure the hardships of this life. There is something 
remarkably preservative about the air of the plains. 



26 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

When we read now of the reunion of the Forty-niners, 
and learn what jovial hours they are capable of enjoy- 
ing even after their years of privation, we are forced 
to conclude that a life sheltered from the rigors of cli- 
mate and spared all deprivation is not the longest, and 
surely not the merriest. When a man's entire posses- 
sions are strapped in a small roll at the back of his sad- 
dle, and his horse and outfit constitute his fortune, he 
is not going to lie awake nights wondering what are 
safe investments for capital. 

After the campaign I saw the scouts, and though the 
winter of 1866 was the time of California Joe's first 
appearance among us, it was not long before I was in- 
troduced to him. It was not my privilege to hear him 
talk for some time, as he was as bashful before a wom- 
an as a school-boy. The general arranged a little plan 
one day by which I could hear him. I was sent into 
the rear tent and specially charged to keep quiet, as 
Joe could not talk without interlarding his sentences 
with oaths, many of them of his own invention, and 
consequently all the more terrible to me because so un- 
familiar. A new oath seems much more profane and 
vastl}^ more startling than those one hears commonly 
about the streets. At the time I listened to him sur- 
reptitiously he had been called to attend court at the 
capital of Kansas, and had made his first journey on a 
railroad. He complained bitterly of the hardships of 
railway travel. The car was too small, too warm, too 
fast, too everything to suit him. The ofiicer who en- 
countered him at Topeka said that Joe seized upon him 




CALIFOKNIA JOE 



WHITE SCOUTS. 27 

with ardor, as being a link with his real life, and that 
he "never wanted to board them air keers agin, and 
was durned sorry he hadn't fetched his mule ; he would 
a heap sight ruther go back on the old critter." He 
was too much dissatisfied with civilization for any one 
to doubt for one moment that he would willingly have 
taken the four hundred miles on horseback in prefer- 
ence to " them air wheezing, racing, red-hot boxes they 
shet a man in." After his return he came to our tent 
dressed in what the officers call " cit's " clothes, which 
he termed " store clothes." His long, flowing hair and 
shaggy beard were shorn, and his picturesqueness gone. 
One cheek was rounded out with his beloved "ter- 
baccy," and he told the general he had " took his last 
journey on them pesky keers " ; and when asked if he 

didn't like the States, said, " D n a country where 

you have to wear a shirt-collar." He told us that he 
had been West forty years, and much of the time be- 
yond the Rockies. He considered Kansas so far East 
that he "reckoned his folks would be thinking he 
was on his way home if they heard of him in there." 
At that time we were in the midst of such a wilder- 
ness it did not seem to us sufficiently far eastward to 
induce any one to think we were anywhere but on the 
stepping - off place. It was only to show off that he 
came in his travelling costume. The buckskin and flan- 
nel shirt soon appeared, but it took some time before 
his hair and beard grew out long enough to make him 
look natural. 

AVhen California Joe first joined the general in the 



28 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

Washita country he studied him pretty thoroughly. 
In his rough Yernacular, he wanted to " size him up," 
and see if he was really soldier enough for him to " fol- 
ler." The contrast between a plainsman's independence 
and the deference and respect for rank that is instilled 
into a soldier is very marked. The enlisted man rarely 
speaks to his superior unless spoken to, and he usually 
addresses an officer in the third j^erson. The scout, on 
the contrary, owns the plains, according to his views, 
and he addresses the stranger or the military man with 
an air of perfect equality ; but long acquaintance with 
their ways taught me that at heart these men were just 
as full of deference for any brave man they served as 
is the soldier. In coming to an understanding with 
the general regarding his giving his services as scout, 
Joe asked his commander a few j^ointed questions about 
himself. He wished to know how he intended to hunt 
Indians. There had been some officers whom he had 
known who had gone to war in a wagon ; the troopers 
called them "feather-bed soldiers." So Joe said: 
" S'pose you're after Injuns, and really want to hev a 
tussle with 'em, would ye start after 'em on hossback, 
or would ye climb into an ambulance and be hauled 
after 'em ? That's the pint I'm headin' for." After 
putting the general through such a catechism, he de- 
cided to let himself be employed, as it was evident 
from his own impressions, and from what he had heard, 
that there w\as not much doubt that the chief was, in 
his own language, " spilin' for a fight" just as much as 
he himself was. 



WHITE SCOUTS. 29 

Joe was made the chief of scouts at once ; but hon- 
ors did not sit easily upon him, for in celebrating his 
advancement he made night hideous with his yells. 
The scout gets drunk just as he does everything else — 
with all his might. Living all his life beyond the re- 
gion of law and its enforcement ; being a perfect shot, 
he is able, usually, to carry out his spree according to 
]iis own wishes. He tells the man who might express 
a wish for a peaceful, quiet night that he had better 
not " tackle " him, and emphasizes his remark by draw- 
ing out of the small arsenal that encircles his body a 
pistol, which, pointed accurately, renders the average 
man quick to say, " It's of no consequence," and retire. 
I do not even like to say that the scouts were ever 
drunk, for they were profoundly sober when they went 
off on their perilous journeys with despatches; and 
when I think how all our lives were in their hands 
when they were sent for succor, and how often they 
took messages across country to put troops or settle- 
ments on their guard, or of a hundred other daring 
deeds of theirs, I prefer to remember only the faith- 
ful discharge of duty, not the carousal that sometimes 
followed the reaction caused by overstrained nerves 
and the relief from hours and days of imjDending 
death. 

Anticipating a little, I remember that California Joe 
was selected for the most important scouting duty of 
the winter, which was nothing less than the transmis- 
sion of the despatch announcing the success of the bat- 
tle of the Washita. The command was then far away 



30 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

from Camp Supply ; it was midwinter, and the Ind- 
ians were thoroughly aroused and on guard. It was 
not known how great the distance was that he must 
traverse, but the troops had taken four days to accom- 
plish it. Joe was asked how many scouts he would 
like to take, and after going off to deliberate, return- 
ed, with the reply that he " didn't want no more ner 
his pardner, fur in this 'ere bizness more is made by 
dodgin' and runnin' than by fightin'." At dark he 
started, without giving the slightest evidence that he 
regarded the perilous undertaking as anything more 
than a commonplace occurrence. 

One peculiarity of these men was their evident in- 
ability to feel surprise ; the most extraordinary occur- 
rences made so little impression upon them that it 
would seem as if they must have had a previous ex- 
istence, and become familiar in another life with the 
strange events which made us gasp with astonishment. 
How often I have heard the officers refer to the variety 
these men made in the tedium of the march, by their 
stories of adventure, their wit, and their fearless and 
original expression of views! It was conceded that 
they '^ drew a long bow " sometimes, but the tales of 
their own lives were startling enough without the least 
necessity for exaggeration. 

One story from the mines was told me, and may have 
lost nothing in the telling. An Irishman who was 
pretty drunk fell into a shaft sixty-five feet deep. He 
picked himself up unhurt, but partially sobered, and 
seeing a passage leading into the open air, he made his 



WHITE SCOUTS. 31 

way out to the side of tlie mountain. Then he walked 
up till he reached the shaft, and looking down into its 
depths, was heard to say, " Be gorry, and I'm thinking 
it would kill me if I was to fall down there agin." 

The scouts and frontiersmen were not slow to express 
their opinion on the few women they encountered, and 
a tale was told of a family consisting of a mother and 
several strapping daughters who lived in a cabin on the 
route over which cattle were driven to market. The 
"gals," as the Western man terms them, took care of 
some cows, and the narrator of the story stopped there 
to get milk. As he sat near the fire smoking, the ra\v^ 
boned, shrivelled old mother bent over the fireplace 
puffing at a clay pipe, perfectly stolid and silent, until 
one girl came in and silently stood at the fire trying 
to dry her homespun dress. Without raising herself, 
and in a drawling tone, the mother said, presently, 
" Sal, there's a coal under you f ut." In no more ani- 
mated tone and without even moving, her offspring 
replied, "Which fut, mammy ?" The girl had run bare- 
foot all her life over the shale and rough ground of 
that country, and the red-hot coal was some time in 
making its way through the hard surface to a tissue 
that had any sensitiveness. 

The widow of a miner, who kept boarders, was also on 
the scant list of female acquaintances of one of the fron- 
tiersmen, who describes a person called the " bouncer,'^ 
who seems to be a well-recognized functionary in such 
establishments. He is always big and strong, and his 
duties consist in bringing to time people who neglect 



32 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

to pay their bill, and for tliis service lie is boarded with- 
out charge. An Eastern man, a 'Henderfoot," on one 
occasion asked some one to pass the gravy, whereupon 
the bouncer placed his pistol on the table and quietly 
remarked, " Any man as calls sop gravy has got to eat 
dust or 'pologize/' 

At that time we all returned to civilization with a 
goodly collection of frontier stories that had not found 
their way into the omnivorous newspaper, and our talk 
was full of allusions to jokes among ourselves, or to 
portions of these way-side tales that we had appropri- 
ated, because they fitted into our daily life so well. We 
believed, and there was no reason why we should doubt 
it, that the amusing or venturesome stories of these men 
were their own experiences, and I need not dwell upon 
the zest it gives to the listener when the hero of a tale 
is present as he tells it. 

Another relief to the weariness of a march was hunt- 
ing game, which was so plentiful that no one need run 
the risk of straying far from the command in search of 
it. The wild turkeys were the greatest treat of all, that 
winter, and there were so many of them that the sol- 
diers' messes had all they wanted while the command 
remained in the locality they frequented. A former 
officer of General Sheridan's staff has been only recent- 
ly reminding me of what a feast they were. In the 
vicinity of the Antelope Hills the trees were black with 
these wild-fowl. 

One of the officers afforded great amusement at the 
time, and gave opportunity for many a sly allusion dur- 



WHITE SCOUTS. 33 

ing: the winter because of an attack of " buck fever." 
At sight of a tree weighed down to the ends of the 
branches with turkeys, he became incapable of loading, 
to say nothing of firing, his gun ; he could do notliing 
but lie down, great strong man as he was, completely 
overcome with excitement. At one point where Gen- 
eral Sheridan and his staff came upon an immense num- 
ber of turkeys, they sent videttes on the neighboring 
hills to keep watch for Indians, and then began to shoot 
the fowls. Between half-past five and half-past seven 
they killed sixty-three with rifles. The place where they 
first came upon this game is now marked on the map 
as "Sheridan's Roost." This officer remembers to have 
seen General Custer cut the head from a turkey with 
a Spencer repeating rifle at two hundred yards. The 
poor soldiers, armed only with their short-range carbines, 
of course saw many a shot go foul, but if they happened 
to be the selected orderlies of the officers they were often 
permitted to use the rifle, and in a case where an officer 
had two, the soldier riding behind his commanding offi- 
cer proudly carried the second best. I know that when 
General Custer and his orderly returned from a hunt, 
their eyes like coals, so brilliant were they, and with 
every evidence of suppressed excitement, yet neither, 
as is the custom of the army, speaking a word, I used to 
accuse the commanding officer of only waiting to get 
beyond the first bluff that separated him from the camp 
before he forgot to be military, and fell to talking with 
the enlisted man. There is so much in common among 
enthusiastic sportsmen ! 
3 



34 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

The soldiers knew how to make the best of their 
short-range guns, and many of them became such ac- 
curate marksmen that they could select the particular 
part to be hit, and not tear the game into shreds with 
their large bullets. The best shots in a company were 
allowed to leave the column and bring in game for the 
rest. At night, when the troops were bivouacked, the 
fires lighted for the soldiers' suppers, the men hovered 
around the coming dinner, rejoicing in its savory smells, 
suggesting to the company cook their ideas of how 
game sliould be prepared, and calling out triumphantly 
to any neighboring mess whose hunters had not been 
so fortunate as their own. Think what it must have 
been to vary the frugal bacon of daily use with rump 
steaks of the buffalo or toothsome morsels of wild tur- 
key! The men needed no sauces or jellies to whet 
the appetite or improve the flavor; that would have 
been "painting the lily" in their eyes. There has been 
much criticism regarding the destruction of the buffa- 
lo, but in the case of our soldiers it was often a health 
measure, as the use of salt meat and absence of vege- 
tables produced scurvy. 

All this hunting, joking, story-telling on the march, 
and around the camp-fire, lost some of its charm, how- 
ever, as winter really set in. Although it is the cus- 
tom of soldiers to make light of hardships, there were 
new features in this winter's campaign which needed 
all their fortitude to pieet and endure. 



I 



Cbarge ! 



^| EEg:^^^^^^ ^^^^ 



^^-^s— ^-^^— •- 



g3^^^=^.i^|^l 



CHAPTER IV. 

BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 

The orders for moving towards the Indian Tillage 
were issued on the evening of November 22d. It 
began to snow, and our men stood round the camp-fire 
for their breakfast at five o'clock the next morning, 
the snow almost up to their knees. The Seventh, con- 
sisting of nine hundred men, were to leave General 
Sheridan and the infantry, and all the extra wagons 
and supplies, and strike out into this blinding storm. 
General Sheridan, awake with anxiety at reveille, called 
out to ask what General Custer thought about the snow 
and the storm. The reply was, "All the better for us ; 
we can move, the Indian cannot." The packing was 
soon done, as every ofince of superfluous baggage was 
left behind, and forward our brave fellows pushed into 
the slowly coming dawn. 

The air was so filled with the fine snow that it was 
perilous to separate one's self even a short distance from 
the column. The Indian guides could not see any land- 
marks, and had it not been for the compass of the com- 



36 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

manding officer, an advance would have been impossi- 
ble. The fifteen miles of the first day's march would 
have been a small affair except for the snow ; but 
the day dragged, and when at night camp was made in 
some timber bordering a creek, the snow still fell so 
fast that the officers themselves helped to shovel it away 
while the soldiers stretched the small amount of canvas 
that was spread. Fortunately, even at that late season, 
fresh meat was secured for all the command, for in the 
underbrush of the streams one out of a group of be- 
numbed buffaloes was easily killed. 

In crossing the Canadian River, the quicksands, the 
floating snow and ice, were faced uncomplainingly, and 
the nine hundred wet soldiers started up the opposite 
side without a murmur. 

Finally the Indian trail, so long looked for, was 
struck, and the few wagons were ordered to halt ; and 
only such supplies as could be carried on the person or 
the horse, consisting of rations, forage, and a hundred 
rounds of ammunition for each trooper, were taken. 
The detail of the officer to remain with the train (al- 
ways assigned according to turn) fell to one of the 
finest of our officers. But Captain Hamilton was not 
to yield his privilege of being 4n a fight so readily. 
He appealed to go, and finally the commanding officer 
thought out a way by which it might be accomplished, 
for he was thoroughly in sympathy Avith the soldier 
spirit of this dauntless young fellow. If another officer 
could be found to take his place, he could be relieved 
from the odious detail. One of the Seventh was suf- 



I 



BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 37 

fering from snow-blindness, and to this misfortune was 
Captain Hamilton indebted for liis change of duty. 
In the long confidential talks about the camp-fires he 
had expressed an ardent desire to be in an Indian fight, 
and when the subject of death came up, as it did in 
the wide range of subjects that comrades in arms dis- 
cussed, he used to say, " When my hour to die comes, 
I hope that I shall be shot through the heart in 
battle." 

The first hours of following the trail were terribly 
hard. Men and horses suffered for food, for from four 
in the morning till nine at night no halt could be 
made. Then by hiding under the deep banks of the 
stream, fires were lighted, and the men had coffee and 
the horses oats; but no bugle sounded, no voice was 
raised, as the Indians might be dangerously near. The 
advance was taken up again with the Indian guides 
creeping stealthily along in front, tracing as best they 
could the route of their foes. The soldier was even 
deprived of his beloved pipe, for a spark might, at that 
moment, lose all which such superhuman efforts had 
been put forth to gain. 

After what seemed an interminable time, the ashes 
of a fire lately extinguished were discovered ; then far- 
ther on a dog barked, and finally the long-looked-for 
Indian village was discovered by the cry of a baby. 
General Custer in his accounts stops to say how keen 
were his regrets, even with the memory fresh in mind 
of the atrocities committed by Indians, where white 
infants' brains had been dashed out to stop their cry- 



38 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

ing, that war must be brought to the fireside of even a 
savage. 

The rest of the night was spent in posting the com- 
mand on different sides of tlie village, in snatching a 
brief sleep, stretched out on the snow, and in longing 
for daybreak. Excitement kept the ardent soldiers 
warm, and when tlie band put their cold lips to the 
still colder metal, and struck up "Garryowen," the 
soldiers' hearts were bursting with enthusiasm and joy 
at the glory that awaited them. At the sound of the 
bugles blowing on the still morning air — the few spir- 
ited notes of the call to "charge" — in went the few 
hundred men as confidently as if there had been thou- 
sands of them, and a reserve corps at the rear. 

All the marching scenes, hunting experiences, the 
quips and quirks of the camp-fire, the jokes of the ofli- 
cers at each other's expense, the hardships of the win- 
ter, the strange and interesting scouts, are as familiar 
to me as oft-told tales come to be, and in going back 
and gathering them here and there in the recesses of 
memory, aided by General Custer's letters, magazine 
accounts, and ofiicial reports, the whole scene spreads 
out before me as the modern diorama unrolls from its 
cylinder the events that are past. Often as this battle 
has been talked over before me, I do not feel myself 
especially impressed with its military details ; woman- 
like, the cry of the Indian baby, the capture of a white 
woman, the storm that drenched our brave men, are all 
fresher in my memory, and come to my pen more read- 
il}^ than the actual charging and fighting. I therefore 



BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 39 

make extracts from General Custer's very condensed 
official report, instead of telling the story myself. 

Headquarters Setenth Cayalry, 

Camp on Washita, November 28, '68. 

On the morning of the 26th, eleven companies of the 
Seventh Cavalry struck an Indian trail numbering one hun- 
dred (not quite twenty-four hours old) near the point where 
the Texas boundary line crosses the Canadian River 

When the Osage trailers reported a village within a mile 
of the advance, the column was countermarched and with- 
drawn to a retired point to avoid discovery. After all the 
officers had reconnoitred the location of the village, which 
was situated in a strip of heavy timber, the command was 
divided into four columns of nearly equal strength. One 
was to attack in the woods from below the village. The sec- 
ond was to move down the Washita and attack in the tim- 
ber from above. The third was to attack from the crest 
north of the village, while the fourth was to charge from the 
crest overlooking the village on the left bank of the Wash- 
ita. The columns were to charge simultaneously at dawn of 
day ; though some of them had to march several miles to gain 
their positions, three of them made the attack so near to- 
gether that it seemed like one charge. The fourth was only 
a few moments late. The men charged and reached the 
lodges before the Indians were aware of their presence. The 
moment the advance was ordered the band struck up " Gar- 
ry owen," and with cheers every trooper, led by his officer, 
rushed towards the village. The Indians were caught nap- 
ping for once. The warriors rushed from their lodges and 
posted themselves behind trees and in deep ravines, from 
which they began a most determined resistance. Within 
ten minutes after the charge the lodges and all their contents 
were in our possession, but the real fighting, such as has 
been rarely, if ever, equalled in Indian warfare, began when 



40 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

attempting to drive out or kill tlie warriors posted in ravines 
or ambush. Charge after charge was made, and most gal- 
lantly too, but the Indians had resolved to sell their lives as 
dearly as possible. The conflict ended after some hours. 
The entire village, numbering (47) forty -seven lodges of 
Black Kettle's band of Cheyennes, (2) two lodges of Arap- 
ahoes, (2) two lodges of Sioux — (51) fifty-one lodges in all, 
under command of their principal chief, Black Kettle — were 
conquered. 

The Indians left on the ground (103) one hundred and 
three warriors, including Black Kettle, whose scalp was taken 
by an Osage guide. 875 horses and mules were captured, 
241 saddles (some of fine and costly workmanship), 573 buf- 
falo-robes, 390 buffalo-skins for lodges, 160 untanned robes, 
210 axes, 140 hatchets, 35 revolvers, 47 rifles, 535 pounds of 
powder, 1050 pounds of lead, 4000 arrows and arrow-heads, 
75 spears, 90 bullet moulds, 35 bows and quivers, 12 shields, 
300 pounds of bullets, 775 lariats, 940 buckskin saddle-bags, 
470 blankets, 93 coats, 700 pounds of tobacco ; all the win- 
ter supply of dried buffalo meat, all the meal flour, and other 
provisions ; in fact, all they possessed was captured, as the 
warriors escaped with little or no clothing. Everything of 
value was destroyed. 53 prisoners were taken, squaws and 
their children ; among the prisoners are the survivors of 
Black Kettle and the family of Little Rock. Two white 
children, captives with the Indians, were captured. One 
white woman in their possession was murdered by her cap- 
tors the moment the attack was made. A white boy, 10 
years old, a captive, had his entrails ripped out with a knife 
by a squaw. The Kiowas, under Satanta, and Arapahoes, 
under Little Raven, were encamped six miles below Black 
Kettle's village. The warriors from these two villages came 
to attempt the rescue of the Cheyennes. They attacked the 
command from all sides, about noon, hoping to recover the 
squaws and the herd of the Cheyennes. 



BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 41 

Thougli displaying great boldness, about three o'clock the 
cavalry countercharged, and they were driven in all direc- 
tions and pursued several miles. The entire command was 
then moved in search of the villages of the Kiowas and Arap- 
ahoes, but after an eight-mile march it was ascertained that 
they had taken fright at the fate of the Cheyennes, and fled. 

The command was then three days' march from the train 
of supplies, and the trail having led over a country cut up by 
ravines and other obstructions, difficult even for cavalry, it 
was impossible to bring the wagons on. The supplies which 
each man carried were nearly exhausted, the men were wea- 
ried from loss of sleep, and the horses in the same condition 
for want of forage. About 8 p. m. the return march was be- 
gun, and continued until the wagons were reached. In the 
excitement of the fight, as well as in self-defence, some of the 
squaws and a few children were killed and wounded ; the lat- 
ter were brought on under medical care. Many of the squaws 
were taken with arms in their hands, and several soldiers were 
wounded by them. In one small ravine 38 warriors were 
found dead, showing the desperation of the conflict. Two 
officers. Major Elliott and Captain Hamilton, were killed, and 
19 enlisted men. Captain Barnitz was seriously wounded. 

The command marched through snow-storms and 
rough country, sleeping without tents ; and the night 
before the attack the men stood for hours by their 
horses awaiting the moment of attack, when the ther- 
mometer was far below freezing-point. IS'o one com- 
plained, the one regret being that " the gallant spirits 
who fell were among the bravest and beet." 

Many of the squaws and children fought like the 
Indians, darting in and out and firing with cool aim 
from tlie opening of the tepees. Some of these squaws 



42 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

followed in the retreat, but there were some still pru- 
dent enouo^h to remain out of siojlit. While the fight 
was going on they sang dirges in the minor key, all 
believing their own last hour had come. Captain 
Smith was sent round before the fight was ended to 
count the tepees for the ofl^icial report. The squaws 
and children fired away at him so fast that he told his 
wife afterwards, " The first count of those lodges was 
made pretty quick, as the confounded popping kept 
up all the time." 

The attention of Captain Yates was attracted to the 
glittering of something briglit in the underbrush. In 
a moment a shot from a pistol explained that the glis- 
tening object was the barrel of a pistol, and lie was 
v/arned by his soldiers that it was a squaw who had 
aimed for liim, and was preparing to fire again. He 
then w^ent round a short distance to investigate, and 
found a squaw standing in the stream, one leg broken, 
but holding her pappoose closely to her. The look of 
malignant hate in her e}' es was something a little worse 
than any venomous expression he had ever seen. She 
resisted most vigorously every attempt to capture her, 
though the agony of her shattered limb must have 
been extreme. When she found that her pistol was 
likely to be taken, she threw it far from her in the 
stream, and fought fiercely again. At last they suc- 
ceeded in getting her pappoose, and she surrendered. 
She was carried forward to a tepee, where our surgeon 
took charge of her. 

As soon as the warriors were driven out, " Romeo," 



I 



BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 43 

wlio spoke the dialect, was sent by the commanding 
officer to set the fears of the self-imprisoned women at 
rest, and they were then all gathered in some of the 
larger lodges. Two of the sqnaws had managed during 
the melee to mount and reach one of the herds of po- 
nies, but in the flight, while driving the property off, 
California Joe had captured women, ponies, and all, 
and he came into camp swinging his lariat and wildly 
shouting. 

Before leaving the battle-ground it was necessary, 
if our troops hoped really to cripple the enemy and 
prevent further invasion, to destroy the property, for 
it was impossible to carry away much of what had 
been captured. The contents of the village were col- 
lected in heaps and burned. The ponies were crowded 
together and shot. It took three companies an hour 
and a half to kill the 800 ponies. This last duty was 
something the officers never forgot. ]S"othing but the 
exigencies of war could have driven them to it. There 
were the several grades of animals as the Indian uses 
them : the ponies for marching, those for pack-animals 
to carry the luggage, the hunting-pony, and finally the 
best, truest, and swiftest, for battle alone. But the 
value of the animals was not what affected the officers ; 
it was that, mute and helpless as they were, they must 
be sacrificed. But they could not be driven away in 
the deep snow, and with so small a command it was 
impossible to spare men to even attempt such a rescue. 
Besides, the presence of such a herd would still more 
strongly have tempted the constantly menacing Indians 



44 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

to follow and recapture so miicli valuable property. 
There was little time to deliberate, for one of the capt- 
ured squaws reported, what afterwards proved to be 
true, that along the Washita, for twelve miles, were 
scattered many other villages. In this comparatively 
sheltered valle}^ all the southern tribes had congre- 
gated. It was a hundred miles outside the reserva- 
tion, but the timber^ water, and grass were favorable 
for winter camps. 

There was still one detachment from which no news 
had come. Men were sent out for two miles in the 
direction taken by Major Elliott, but no clew to his 
whereabouts was obtained. Officers and men felt the 
imminent danger that surrounded them. Nine hun- 
dred men so far from a base of supplies, exhausted from 
a lone: fast, and with horses worn out with a difficult 
march through tlie snow, were in no condition to risk 
the lives of the whole command in further search for 
their dead comrades. Not till the regiment returned 
to the battle-ground, a short time later, were the bodies 
of the brave officer and his men found. 

In order to escape from the situation, which was 
most threatening, for the Indians were assembling con- 
stantly on the bluffs overlooking the command. Gen- 
eral Custer put on a brave front, and ordered the band 
to play " Garryowen," and the colors to be unfurled ; 
the skirmishers were sent on in advance, and the com- 
mand set out in the direction of the other villages. I 
have often thought what nerve it required to assume 
so bold an attitude and march towards an enemy scat- 



i 



BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 45 

tered for twelve miles in advance ; the horses and men 
so exhausted, the ammunition low, and Indians out- 
numbering them three to one. The Indians, perceiv- 
ing not only the determined advance, but appreciating 
that every sign of past victory was apparent, supposed 
the triumphant troops were about to march on the vil- 
lages below, and they fled before the column. After 
dark the order to countermarch was given, and as rap- 
idly as possible the tired troopers rode back to the train 
of supplies that had been endeavoring for days to make 
its way to the regiment. 

In General Sheridan's letter to General Custer, after 
the battle, he says, in congratulation : " The Battle of 
the "Washita Eiver is the most complete and successful 
of all our private battles, and was fought in such unfav- 
orable weather and circumstances as to reflect the high- 
est credit on yourself and regiment." 

The following extracts are from General Custer's let- 
ters to me : 

The sad side of the story is the killed and wounded. Ma- 
jor Elhott and six men, who charged after two Indians, and 
Captain Hamilton, are gone. I had Captain Hamilton's body 
brought to this point (Beaver Creek, supply depot), Avhere we 
buried him with full military honors. Eleven companies of 
cavalry and three of infantry followed him to the grave. The 
band played the dead-march ; his horse was draped in mourn- 
ing, carrying his boots, sword, etc., and followed his body. 
We intend to take the remains back with us when we go to 
Leavenworth. Colonel Barnitz was wounded by a rifle-ball 
through his bowels. We all regarded him as mortally wound- 
ed at first, but he is almost certain to recover now. He acted 



46 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

very gallantly, killing two Indians before receiving his wound. 
"Tom" had a flesh-wound in his hand. 

Fort Cobb, Indian Territory, December I'dth. 

Here we are, after twelve days' marching through snow, mud, 
rain, and over an almost impassable country, where sometimes 
we made only eight miles a day. We have been following 
an Indian trail, and three days ago we overtook the Kiowas ; 
but in order to get the whole tribe together, as well as not to 
frighten the Apaches and Comanches, who were also with the 
Kiowas, we refrained from attacking, but permitted Satanta 
and Lone Wolf, and many other chiefs and w^arriors, to come 
into our lines. We find it almost impossible to hurry the 
Indians much, they have so many powwows and ceremonies 
before determining upon any important action. 

A few moments ago one of the chiefs. Kicking Bird, came 
in with the news that the entire Kiowa villasje was hastening 
in to give themselves up. The Cheyennes and Arapahoes 
are sick of war since the battle of the Washita. Five miles 
below the battle-ground, in a deserted Indian village, the bod- 
ies of a young and beautiful white woman and her babe were 
found, and I brought them away for burial at Arbuckle. The 
woman was captured by Indians — I think, near Fort Lyon, as 
she was recognized by several of our command. 

Fort Cobb, January 2d. 

The last remaining tribes of hostile Indians have sent in 
their head chiefs to beg pity from us. 

Yesterday a grand council was held near my tent. All the 
head chiefs of the Apaches, Kiowas, Comanches, Cheyennes, 
and Arapahoes were assembled. I was alone with them, ex- 
cept one officer, w ho took stenographic notes of the speeches. 
A line of sentinels had to be thrown around the council to 
keep back the observers, as there were crowds of officers, 
soldiers, and employes of the quartermaster's department. 



1 



BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 47 

The council lasted for hours. The arrogance and pride is 
whipped out of the Indians; they no longer presume to make 
demands of us ; on the contrarj^, they have surrendered them- 
selves into our keeping. We are left to fix the terms upon 
which they may resume peaceful relations with the Govern- 
ment. 

Medicine Bluff Creek, January 14, '69. 

I want to tell you about the courage of one of the guides. 
Last evening, about two hours before dark, a soldier came 
running into my tent, and said a man nearly naked was mount- 
ed on a mule and riding through camp. We rushed out, and 
sure enough there was the man. " It's Stillwell," we both 
said simultaneously. He is one of my couriers, sent on the 
4th with the mail to Camp Supply, and whose return with our 
mail we were anxiously awaiting. He had just returned, and 
this was the first we saw of him. I began calling to him in 
my delicate (?) tones, and we soon had him in my tent. Af- 
ter pouring a gill of whi.skey down him that I directed the 
surgeon to administer, he was able to speak. Heavy rains for 
several days have filled all the streams to overflowing. We 
are encamped on the south bank of this creek, and it is im- 
passable at any point except by swimming, and even then at 
great risk to both horse and rider, as the current is both rapid 
and powerful. Stillwell, with his party, and their pack-mules 
bearing the mail, reached the opposite bank about a mile 
above camp, found the stream impassable for the loaded 
mules, as they thought ; so he plunged in with his horse and 
swam the stream, and being nearly frozen with the ice-water, 
he was making his way to the scouts' fire' as rapidly as possi- 
ble. He decided that, owing to the rapid current, it was im- 
possible to bring the mail over till morning, when it was 
hoped the water would fall and render swimming unneces- 
sary. 

The others submitted to this decision, but I said I knew 



48 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

there were letters for me, and I was going to try for that 
mail, and read my letters, if I had to put a candle in my pock- 
et and swim the stream. My tongue fairly rattled off the 
directions. *' Bishop, bring me a horse ; don't wait to saddle 
him." I ordered so many men to report to me with lariats, 
axes, etc. ; to another officer I called out to gallop up the 
stream, and tell the scouts to bring on the mail until they shall 
see me on the bank. 

Jumping on Bishop's horse bareback, I forded one branch 
of the stream, and sought the most available point to cross 
the mail over the main stream. Some of the officers came 
down at first and looked on, but it was too cold, and they re- 
turned to their tent fires. I found a place where we could 
roll a long log out some distance in the water, and from it a 
rope could be thrown across to the other bank and secured 
by the mail-carriers. The men had to strip off their boots 
and pantaloons, and work in the water. I encouraged them all 
I could, and had the doctor send them whiskey, which Colonel 
Cook distributed to them. Tom thought he could make his 
way over on horseback, and tried it ; but the current carried 
him and his horse down, and he had to struggle to get back. 
Finally we got the rope over and secured on both banks. One 
of the men volunteered to strip off and make his way across, 
holding on to the rope. In he went, and soon called out "All 
right" from the other shore. Fastening a mail-bag to his 
neck, he jumped in, and hard pulling against a roaring tor- 
rent brouo;ht him across ; strono^ hands were waitino' to lift him 
and his precious load out of the water. All this was after 
dark. In again he went and called out, as before, from the 
other side, " All right." Seven times did that brave man 
breast the current. Cook held the bottle of whisky ready for 
him as he came out the last time. "Drink, my man, I don't 
care if you are drunk a week," was my greeting ; then putting 
hira on a horse, naked as he was the day he came into the 
world, I told him to gallop to his tent and wrap up well in 



BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 49 

his blankets. As each mail-bag was landed, Tom, wet and 
cold, received it, galloped to the adjutant's tent, where it was 
distributed to the camp as fast as possible. 

Two lodges of the Cheyennes have come in, and they say 
that the Arapahoes and Cheyennes, whose villages were a 
hundred miles distant when our council took place the other 
day, are all moving, but owing to the bad roads and high 
water they travel slowly. I am as impatient as a crazed ani- 
mal to have them come in, so that I can start on my home- 
ward journey rejoicing. 

Tell Eliza I have just the thing for her. One of the squaws 
among the prisoners had a little pappoose a few nights since, 
and I intend to bring it home to add to the orphan asylum 
she always keeps. 

The baby referred to was the child of an Indian prin- 
cess described in a subsequent chapter. Owing to its 
lineage, the new-comer was treated with every attention 
by the prisoners, but it was not so with a poor little 
infant who was not the descendant of royalty. The 
mother of the little "forlornity" was killed while fight- 
ing in the Washita battle, and the captive women were 
given charge of the baby. They took advantage of 
every opportunity to drop it in the snow on the march, 
and our officers had to watch vigilantly to see that the 
squaws did not accomplish their purpose of leaving it 
to perish on the way. 

In Camp, Medicine Bluff Creek, 11.30 ym., February 8, '69. 
It has been several days since I wrote to you. I have made 
a long march since. I asked the adjutant to write you dur- 
ing my absence. I did not tell you of my intentions, fearing 
that you might be anxious ; but I am now back safe and well. 
4 



50 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

AVe Lave been to try and bring in the Indian villages, and 
have had what some people would term a rough time ; were 
gone sixteen days, without wagons or tents. Our provisions 
became exhausted, there was no game, and officers and men 
subsisted on parched corn and horse-flesh, the latter not even 
possessing the merit of having been regularly butchered, but 
died from exhaustion. Scarcely a morsel of it was left un- 
eaten. You could hardly have helped being amused, even 
though it was so serious, to have seen the officers sitting 
around the camp-fire toasting strips of horse-flesh on forked 
sticks, and then eating it without salt or pepper. I had buffa- 
lo robes for my bed, slept soundly and comfortably on the 
ground, with no shelter except the large rubber blanket spread 
over me from head to foot, and the rain pouring down. One 
night my pack-mule did not reach camp, and my robes and 
overcoat were all with it. I had to sleep all night without 
either, but I enjoyed it all, and often thought of the song : 

"The bold dragoon he has no care 
As he rides along with his uncombed hair." 

I write briefly, as it is late, and one of the officers going to 
Leavenworth to-morrow will tell you all the news. 

The Cheyennes have delayed their coming in so long that 
I cannot get home and take our leave of absence as we hoped. 

In returning here from our late march. General Sheridan 
was anxious to hear the result of our trip as soon as possible. 
I took half a dozen men, and, mounted on a good mule, I rode 
eighty miles in sixteen hours, through mountains, and guided 
alone by the compass, taking the general and every one else 
by surprise by my sudden arrival in camp. 



^I^^^l 



jfuneral /iBarcb. 




CHAPTER V. 

INDIAN TEAILS, COUNCILS, AND CxVPTIVES. 

Medicine Bluff Creek, I. T., February 17, 1868. 
Yesterday we made peace with the Kiowas, and released 
their two head chiefs, Satanta and Lone Wolf. We are now 
waiting the arrival of the train with supplies from Arbuckle, 
when we will at once bid a final adieu to this part of the 
country, and set out in a westerly direction, intending to 
treat with the Cheyennes at some point west of here, then 
turn our faces northward to Camp Supply. 

Medicine Bluff Creek, February 20th. 

It is a bright and pleasant morning, such as we often had 
in Texas. The climate here is lovely, seldom a day that 
even a light coat is uncomfortable. We have mistletoe here 
as plentifully as in Texas. The scenery is sublime — pictu- 
resque in the extreme ; the climate all that can be desired — 
not surpassed, I imagine, by Italy ; and such lovely sunsets ! 
... I wish you could see with what awe I am held by the 
Indians. A sound drubbing, you know, always produces 
this. They have given me a name, Mon-to-e-te, which means 
Strong Arm. 

I cannot write but a few lines this evening, as I am now 
using the last piece of candle which can be obtained any- 



52 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

where in camp. So bountifully are we supplied with Gov-» 
ernment stores that not an officer here, from General Sheri- 
dan down, has any light; nor have they had for several 
nights, nor will we have until the arrival of the train of 
supplies. How we shall spend the long evenings I do not 
know — sleep, I presume. 

As soon as the train of supplies arrives, I expect to move 
west about one hundred miles, through the Washita mount- 
ains, to see if the Cheyennes are in that vicinity ; then I turn 
northward to Camp Supply. Tell Eliza I am tired of living 
on roast horse and parched corn, as we have had to, and I 
will soon be at home, and want soup every day. 

General Sheridan hastens to Camp Supply, and will start 
with a train of supplies to meet me somewhere in the vicin- 
ity of the Washita battle-field. You see I am telling you 
our plans, when not a single officer of this command dreams 
of our destination, and all are wondering when we are going. 
I am telling you just as if I were with you. Look on the 
map and find a point on Cache Creek about one hundred 
miles due west from Fort Arbuckle. That is where we 
now are. When we move it will be nearly due south-west, 
following the Red River. There we expect to accomplish the 
object of our western detour, and will then be nearly on a 
line due south from Fort Dodge. I am thus minute in order 
that you may see what a vast extent of country we will have 
visited since the beginning of my experience on the plains. 

Once back to Camp Supply, nothing further can be ac- 
complished for some time ; our horses will be worn out, 
many of them now being unable to proceed that far. 

The horses are being fed on grass alone, running loose 
night and day. They come in at the sound of water-call as 
regularly and promptly as if led. The men are living on 
half rations of bread. 

No officers' stores for the coming march. I intend to 
have driven along with us one hundred and fifty head of 



INDIAN TEAILS, COUNCILS, AND CAPTIVES. 53 

Texas cattle, so that we will not be compelled to eat horse- 
meat again. You know how Texas cattle can travel, equal to 
any horse. I also have plenty of salt, so my command will 
not suffer. 

General Sheridan has been in on my bed talking over our 
plans. He said again, for the fiftieth time, that I could go 
east at the earliest possible moment; but I tell him, as I al- 
ways have, that I would not go till the work was all done. 

Last night, a few moments after I had laid away my un- 
finished letter and writing materials, and was sitting alone 
in my Sibley tent, I heard the clatter of several feet coming, 
as if horsemen were approaching. It was bright moonlight, 
and I stood peering out of a small opening in the tent try- 
ing to divine who it could be entering camp at that hour of 
the night. 

Three muffled figures, human in shape, mounted upon 
mules and leading two pack-muks, rode up to my tent and 
dismounted. I could not recognize them, but said, " Come 
in, who is it ?" " Why, general, we have the mail," was the 
reply. " Hurrah ! is that you, Jack ?" 

(Jack Corbin, one of my most reliable scouts, whom I sent 
to Camp Supply a month ago.) 

If they had been my brothers 1 could not have greeted 
them more warmly. Shaking hands all around and asking 
them to sit down by my shee-t-iron stove and warm (we are 
having a terrible norther), I called the adjutant to distribute 
the mail they brought. Why was I so glad to see these 
daring men? — not purely for themselves, though they are 
good, very good men, but a bird whispered in my ear that 
there were letters for ma I could have hugged them when 
I thought that they had braved the perils of two hundred 
miles, through the Indian country, in order to bring to us, 
'way out here, news from our loved ones. 

I was right in thinking I had letters in the bag. There 
were eight. The last was dated the 12th of February, and I 



54 FOLLOwma the guidon. 

received it in ten days from date. Is that not remarkable 
time for courier mail ? It has made the quickest time that 
any document, official or private, has reached this command. 
Nothing seems to be a sufficient obstacle to prevent our 
letters coming. It often happens that General Sheridan 
desires to send off couriers post-haste with important de- 
spatches and cannot burden him with mail matter, so no one 
is informed of his going ; but he never fails to quietly notify 
me, so that I can get a letter to you by every opportunity. 



Medicine Bluff Creek, March 1, 1869. 

This is the last day of our sojourn here. In fact, it was 
to have been the day of our departure, but the Quartermas- 
ter and Commissary departments have disappointed us, and I 
am forced to wait another day for supplies. My command 
has been living on quarter rations of bread for ten days. 
General Sheridan has been worried almost to distraction by 
this cause. He went away with the impression, from what 
he heard, that we were going to have a large and heavily 
loaded train. I have received advance lists of all they con- 
tain, and I can barely get ten days' rations of bread for my 
command, and about fifteen rations of other articles. 

The troops remaining here have scarcely any commissary 
stores, but they cannot starve, though compelled to live on 
beef alone : but even then they will have no salt. I wish 
some of those who are responsible for this state of affairs, 
and who are living in luxury and comfort, could be made to 
share at least the discomforts and privations of troops serv- 
ing in the field. 

I am going to march over a portion of the country to 
which every one is a stranger, and the distance unknown. 
I wrote you, however, our proposed movements. I shall be 
glad to get on the move again. I have remained in camp 
until I am tired of it. I seldom care to stay in one camp 



INDIAN TKAILS, COUNCILS, AND CAPTIVES. 55 

over two or three days. I am almost as nomadic in my pro- 
clivities as the Indians themselves. 

I send you a likeness which it may not occur to you is 
the picture of your husband. How do you like the beard? 
The costume is a very fine one, made of dressed buckskin 
and fringed. The cap is the one without a visor, that I 
have worn all winter. Frank, the tailor, is the maker of the 
suit.* One of the officers said that he thought you would 
not recognize it, but would think that it was the man from 
California, the great hunter, who gave the President the 
bear-skin chair. 

You would not imagine that I was writing amid frequent 
interruptions. The officers are constantly coming in inquir- 
ing about preparations for the march. Several Indian chiefs 
have been in to "talk" — to them I talk, and continue my 
writing at the same time, an interpreter being present. I 
send you a likeness of four of my scouts. The one on the 
right is " California Joe," mentioned in General Sheridan^s 
and my despatches. He is the odd genius, so full of origi- 
nality, and constantly giving utterance to quaint remarks. 
He has been everywhere west of the Mississippi, clear to the 
Pacific coast. He has not seen any of his relations for fif- 

* The morning that this letter came, enclosing the little tintype 
of General Custer with a full beard and a buckskin costume, 1 had 
a visit from the tailor's wife, to whom I have referred in Boots 
and Saddles as old "Trouble agin," because it was the preface to 
all her speeches to me. She entered with an open letter and a 
tintype of the soldier husband whom after every beating she loved 
more fondly. 

He was dressed precisely as the general was, as I discovered 
from the picture that came in my letter later in the day. This 
mystified me for a time, but I found, after General Custer's return, 
that Frank, not explaining the exact reason, had borrowed the 
buckskin suit, hurried to have himself tintyped as the Great North 
American Scout, and sent off liis letter to show Mrs. Frank what 
a smart soldier she had for a spouse. 



56 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

teen years, and when asked the other day why he never vis- 
ited home, replied, " Oh, to tell the truth, gineral, our family 
never was very peart for caring much about each other." 

The third scout in the group is my interpreter, a young 
Mexican. Do you notice his long matted hair? Barnum 
would make a fortune if he had him. His hair never made 
the acquaintance of a comb, and his face is almost equally 
unacquainted with water. Yet he is a very good and de- 
serving person, in his way. We have a great deal of sport 
with him. I threaten to put kerosene oil on his hair and 
set it on fire. He speaks several of the Indian languages, 
and is very useful. The fourth in the group is Jack Cor- 
bin, one of my most reliable scouts and couriers. He has 
made frequent trips to Camp Supply and back with the mail. 

Washita Battle-ground, March 24, 1869. 

We arrived here yesterday, having marched three hundred 
and fourteen miles. I will rest two days and then start with 
my entire command for Camp Supply. 

I have been successful in my campaign against the Chey- 
ennes. I outmarched them, outwitted them at their own 
game, proved to them they were in my power, and could and 
would have annihilated the entire village of over two hun- 
dred lodges but for two reasons. 1st. I desired to obtain 
the release of the two white women held captive by them, 
which I could not have done had I attacked. 2d. If I had 
attacked them, those who escaped, and absent portions of 
the tribe also, w^ould have been on the war-path all summer, 
and we would have obtained no rest. These reasons alone 
influenced me to pursue the course I have, and now, when I 
can review the whole matter coolly, my better judgment 
and my humanity tell me I have acted wisely. You cannot 
appreciate how delicately I was situated. I counselled Avith 
no one, but when we overtook the Cheyenne village, and 
saw it in our power to annihilate them, my command, from 



INDIAN TRAILS, COUNCILS, AND CAPTIVES. 57 

highest to lowest, desired bloodshed. They were eager for 
revenge, and could not comprehend my conduct. They dis- 
approved and criticised it. I paid no heed, but followed the 
dictates of my own judgment — the judgment upon which 
my beloved commander (General Sheridan) said he relied for 
the attainment of the best results. He had authorized me 
to do as I pleased, fight or not. And now my most bitter 
enemies cannot say that I am either blood-thirsty or possess- 
ed of an unworthy ambition. 

Had I given the signal to attack, officers and men would 
have hailed it with a shout of gratification. I braved their 
opinion, and acted in opposition to their wishes, but to-day 
not one but says I was right, and any other course would 
have been disastrous. Many have come to me and confess- 
ed their error. The two women are bright, cultivated, and 
good-looking. 

I now have the Cheyenne chiefs prisoners, and intend to 
hold them as such until their tribe comes in. I think we 
have rendered them sick and tired of war. We are delight- 
ed to find a large mail here. The paymaster is at Camp 
Supply waiting to pay the troops. One-half the command 
is dismounted, and what few horses we have could not go 
out again for two months. 

General Custer refers in the letters written to me, 
from which quotations have just been made, to the res- 
cue of the two white women. It was brought about 
after unending parleyings, delays, and excuses on the 
part of the Indians, by threatening to hang the three 
chiefs, Big Head, Fat Bear, and Dull Knife, who had 
been captured by our people with a view to holding 
them until all the white captives then with the hostiles 
were released. Indian messengers were sent to the 



68 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

tribe to report the danger to their chiefs, and finally, 
after long and weary watching of the hills over which 
the detachment from the village must come, a group 
of horsemen appeared. While they traversed several 
miles that separated them from our troops, the whole 
command watched with breathless interest. The young- 
brother of a captured woman had been with the com> 
mand all winter, and moving daily among our men, had 
kept their sympathies alive to the atrocity that had 
been perpetrated. All the troopers were watching this 
half -grown man, suddenly matured by anxiety and 
trouble, as he kept his eyes on the approaching Ind- 
ians. The hearts of the soldiers beat faster and faster 
as the lad grew paler and more anxious. " The bravest 
are the tenderest," and that day proved it, for our 
rough men had scarcely any thouglit but for the suf- 
fering youth among them. Finally the Indians came 
near enough for an officer to perceive with his glass 
that there were two on one pony A little nearer and 
they reported that they were women. The poor boy 
had no reason to be sure that one of them was his sis- 
ter. To the Indian his captive is nameless. The chiefs 
had confessed that they had two white squaws, but by 
no means in their power could our people ascertain 
who they w^ere. Finally the two figures descended 
from the pony, left the Indians, who were at a halt, 
and began to walk towards the waiting troops. 

General Caster, by the aid of his powerful field-glass, 
told young Brewster that one of the figures coming 
was short and stout, the other taller. As soon as any 



INDIAN TRAILS, COUNCILS, AND CAPTIVES. 69 

observation was made by General Custer regarding 
what his glass revealed, one listening soldier told it to 
another, and a tremor of excitement spread from one 
end of the long watching line to the other. As Brew- 
ster looked through the glass lent to him and saw the 
women, he began to believe that one of them was his 
sister, as she was of about her height, and he implored 
General Custer for permission to go to her. It was 
hard to refuse, but he was obliged to do so, fearing 
the boy's horror at the change in her would make him 
forget the necessity for caution, and attempt revenge 
before the prisoners had really reached our lines. 

The regiment of Kansas Volunteers had been or- 
ganized to revenge some of the outrages to the border 
people, and with the hope of rescuing white prisoners, 
so General Custer gave them the privilege of first greet- 
ing their two States women. Three ranking officers 
went forward to meet the poor creatures, who, even 
then, except for their white skin, could hardly be dis- 
tinguished from the Indians, so strange was their dress. 
Hardly had the officers advanced a quarter of the way 
when the waiting lad darted from his place beside Gen- 
eral Custer, and sped on before every one until he had 
reached the women. As he clasped the taller of the 
two in his arms the soldiers knew that the sister for 
whom he had suffered so much was restored to him. 
The officers, in telling this story to us afterwards, al- 
ways hurried over this part ; they could not speak 
calmly. 

They all crowded round the poor girls, eager to 



60 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

shake their hands and welcome them ; but the most 
daring, the most valiant among them, did not at- 
tempt to conceal the tears that rolled down their 
cheeks. Men who had laid the fair flower of chivalry, 
the loved comrade. Captain Hamilton, in the ground 
only so recently with tearless silence, now wept over 
the two captives. The longer they looked upon 
the poor creatures the harder it became to control 
their emotions. The young faces of the two, who 
not a year before were bright, happy women, were 
now worn with privation and exposure, and haggard 
with the terrible insults of their captors, too dread- 
ful to be chronicled here. The rudely cut and 
scanty garment that barely covered them was made 
from flour sacks bearing the brand that our govern- 
ment purchases, thus proving that the Indians who 
captured them had been drawing rations from the 
United States Indian agency at the time. They had 
Indian leggings and moccasins, their braided hair and 
arms encircled with spiral wire, their fingers covered 
with brass rings, their necks with beads, were evi- 
dences that the Indians, by thus adorning their prison- 
ers, hoped to mollify the wrath of the white man. 
Fortunately, the one" woman on the expedition, who 
was General Custer's cook, and from whose temper, 
as I have elsewhere related, her soldier husband so 
often suffered, now forgot the rages and furies of her 
daily life, and gave the poor released creatures some 
of her clothing, clad in which they left in charge of 
the now happy brother for their homes when the first 



INDIAN TRAILS, COUNCILS, AND CAPTIVES. 61 

wagon-train coming with supplies went back to Camp 
Supply. 

The story of their life among the Indians was one of 
barbarous treatment and brutality ; one had no knowl- 
edge that the other was a prisoner, as they had been 
captured separately, until they met in an Indian vil- 
lage, and after being traded about from one chief to 
another, they at last came to be owned by the same 
warrior. While together, they planned an escape. 
They did not know where they were, but stole out at 
night, and, guided by the stars, started north. With 
great joy they at last reached a wagon-road lately trav- 
elled. In the midst of this delight a bullet whistled 
by them, and soon they saw their owner in hot pur- 
suit. 'New insults were inflicted, and more laborious 
work was loaded on the two after their return to the 
village. The conduct of the squaws, always jealous of 
white women, was brutality itself. The chief finally 
sold the two apart. With the terrible physical labor 
required of them, in addition to revolting indignities, 
it was a wonder they lived. They were almost starved, 
some days only being allowed a morsel of mule-meat, 
not over an inch square at most, for an entire day. 
The squaws beat them with clubs when the Indians 
were absent, and once one of them was felled to the 
ground by a blow from these same jealous fiends. 

After all this dreadful life, it would seem as if the 
two women might have looked for immunity from 
future trouble, but in one instance it was not to be. 
Two years after their rescue, two of our ofiicers were 



62 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

riding past a ranch and saw a little Indian boy play- 
ing before tlie lionse. Seeing him, they were too much 
interested not to inquire who lived there, and found, 
when the woman of the house came to the door, that 
it was one of the captives, whose face, owing to the 
tragic circumstances of the release, was fixed indelibly 
on their memory. It was impossible for her to resist 
detaining them a few moments, recalling again her 
gratitude to the troops for her rescue. When they 
asked if all went well with her, she could not help 
confiding to them the fact that the husband whom she 
had married after her return, instead of trying to make 
her forget the misery through which she had passed, 
often recalled all her year of captivity with bitterness, 
and was disposed to upbraid her, as if she had been 
in the least responsible for the smallest of her mis- 
fortunes. 

In the many letters which I have looked over to 
obtain my few notes of a winter that was so eventful, 
I have found only occasional allusions to the hardships 
undergone; but, little by little, references were made 
after the return of the command that gave some idea 
of the self-denial and self-control which every one had 
to exercise. If afterwards any one exhibited the slight- 
est sign of obstinacy, some teasing voice was sure to 
pipe up and say, " What can you expect of a man who 
has dined on mule-steaks ?" General Custer could not 
eat mule or horse when they were all reduced to that 
desperate strait, but in his Imnger he told me he used 
to think that he might, to save himself from starva- 



INDIAN TRAILS, COrNCILS, AND CAPTIVES. 63 

tion, make up his mind to eat his dogs' ears ; and as 
they trotted along in front of him, quite happy over 
their mule breakfast, he looked longingly at these de- 
voted friends, but with a hope that he might be spared 
the necessity of mutilating them. 

The soldiers bartered for everything. One came to 
General Caster to beg to trade some tobacco for a loaf 
of bread. He received the half of the last loaf, but the 
tobacco was declined, as it was not the habit of Gener- 
al Custer to use it. That night the remaining half of 
the loaf was stolen. A little sack of oats was carefully 
treasured in General Custer's tent for his favorite horse, 
and the hungry animals left loose to pick what grass 
they could under the edges of the snow, came at night 
sniffing and snorting around the oats in hungry search. 
The horses grew so expert in foraging for themselves 
that they learned to put one hoof on a fallen sapling 
and tear off the bark with their teeth, as a dog holds 
and picks a bone. 

It was on that campaign that I first heard of a sack 
made of a buffalo-skin to sleep in, and not even then 
should I have learned that such an invention was 
known, had not the handsome Adonis who used this 
clever device been unmercifully teased for indulging in 
so much luxury. 

Indeed, it was mostly owang to the tormenting spirit 
of raillery, that is the characteristic of officer and sol- 
dier, that many of the hardships endured came to 
my knowledge at all. When the attention of a group 
was called to some comical situation, reminding the 



64 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

bystanders of some desperate plight, either of danger or 
deprivation, in which an officer had been placed, I had 
an insight into what had been endured by them all. 

I suppose that I never should have heard of several 
incidents of the winter, had it not been that the Kansas 
Volunteers afforded some amusement to our men, from 
the fact that they, though brave men, were inexperi- 
enced campaigners, and their complaints did not escape 
our men, who considered themselves scarred veterans 
in comparison. For years, if any one said, talking of a 
hoped-for leave of absence, or describing some one who 
was lonely, " I can see home just as plain," I knew that 
it referred to a volunteer who was heard by some of 
our men crying with homesickness, and confiding his 
woes to his " bunkey." At heart our men were sorry 
for them, as there were some pitiful instances of nos- 
talgia among them ; but when they whined like chil- 
dren they were apt to encounter ridicule. 

At the time when the supplies were getting low and 
half-rations were issued, and still tlie expedition pur- 
sued a fresh trail, instead of returning to the wagon 
train, the commanding officer ordered the band to play 
the regimental tunes, " Garryowen," " The Girl I left 
behind Me," etc., after camp was reached, in the hope 
of raising the spirits of the men. Evidently the soul 
of the Kansas Volunteers was not attuned to music 
when assailed by the pangs of hunger, for they were 
overheard to grumble and complain that " Custer fed 
them on one hardtack a day and the ' Arkansaw Trav- 
eller.' " 



INDIAN TRAILS, COUNCILS, AND CAPTIVES. 65 

The story of the military part of the rest of the win- 
ter, unmarked by any battle, but full of parleyings, 
ruses, subterfuges, councils, and promises of peace on 
the part of the Indians, who eventfully did come to 
terms, has been much better told by another pen than 
mine. I needed only to outline the battle of the Wash- 
ita, that I might introduce the prisoners who formed 
such a feature of our life during the following summer 
at Fort Hays, and explain how it came to pass that the 
regiment was able to have a permanent camp instead 
of being all off on a campaign at once. 
6 



asoots an& SaDDles. 







CHAPTER VI. 

IN CAMP ON BIG CREEK. 

Early in the spring tlie Seventh Cavalry found 
themselves again in Kansas, and with the cheering pros- 
pect of some degree of quiet. The same Big Creek on 
which they had been located two summers before was 
chosen for a camp ; access was had to the regimental 
baggage, which had been stored, and every one pre- 
pared to make himself comfortable. Some of the offi- 
cers took leave of absence, and after the year's separa- 
tion from their families the rejoicing was great. Two 
of our number brought their wives back to camp. 
Others were deprived of that pleasure, because their 
wives could not endure the hardships, or their children 
were too young to bear the exposure. There was great 
exchanging of confidences concerning the experiences 
of the ofiicers on their leaves, and much unreserved 
narrating of domestic scenes ; for, full of railing as every 
one was, a man's family life Avas sacred, and he felt that 
he could speak of it freely ; so it was indeed as if we 
were one family. Those who went home amused us, on 
their return, by their stories of how they had surprised 
the home people — stealing in at the backdoor, catch- 
ing up their wives and swinging them in air, while the 
frightened servants, hearing the screams, ran from the 



IN CAMP ON BIG CREEK- 67 

kitchen with hands covered with flour, and the coach- 
man from the stable, still holding his ciirrj-comb, all of 
them ready to defend their lady against the imagined 
burglar or assassin. One of our number reached home 
in the evening while his little son was sleeping. He 
was awakened in the morning by the vigorous applica- 
tion of a pair of little fists on his face, and an angry 
demand from the little fellow, accompanied by some 
terrible language that the youngster had learned at 
the cavalry stables, to "get out of his mother's bed." 
He had, in the year that had elapsed, entirely for- 
gotten how his father looked, and not knowing he 
was coming, he did not suspect the identity of the in- 
truder. 

Those ofiicers who had no families were busy over 
piles of love-letters awaiting them from the East, and 
sought in vain places where they might read in peace, 
for those who were not so fortunate as to have a sweet- 
heart rallied the lucky ones, and interfered as much as 
possible with the envied enjoyment. Still, it is a well- 
known fact that a soldier is usually a lover. The old 
saw, " Love rules the camp, the court, the grove," is 
one that fits all nations and all eras. Officers are pret- 
ty fearless about their devotion ; if not avowing it 
openly, still wearing all sorts of love-pledges — chains 
and lockets which with the open-throated shirt in a 
campaign are easily seen, or keepsakes on the watch- 
chain : perhaps a curious ring which could not be mis- 
taken for a man's under any circumstances, or other 
such things. I have even seen a bangle made large 



QS FOLLOWING THE GnDON. 

enough to encircle tlie arm, and locked on, of course, 
bj fair hands. A Catholic officer often wore an Ag- 
nus Del, and I believe that many a man would have 
disfigured himself with an ear-ring if the girl he left 
behind him liad asked to pierce his ear for that pur- 
pose. They did not hesitate to carry their sweet- 
hearts' pictures in their inner pockets, and around the 
camp-fire take them out and look at the loved faces 
by the firelight the last thing before sleeping. Imag- 
ine, then, with all these officers, most of whom were in 
love with women, either their wives or the girls they 
hoped to make their wives, what a time of rejoicing it 
was when partial civilization was again reached, and the 
cars of the railroad were almost in sight, meaning to 
them an opportunity to go East — or failing that, at least 
a daily mail! Every one's heart seemed to be merry; 
the sound of laughter and song rang out from the 
tents, and the soldiers danced in the company streets 
to the music of an Irish bagpipe (differing somewhat 
from the Scotch instrument, but with just as merry 
music) that belonged to a recruit newly arrived. 

Our summer camp was between two and three miles 
from Fort Hays, on Big Creek. Sometimes the stream 
ran along for a distance with no timber or underbrush 
to border it, but the place selected for our tents was 
under a fringe of good sized cotton -wood -trees. It 
was most gratifying to have this protection, and after 
a hot ride on the arid plain we came under the boughs 
and saw, with a real home feeling, the white tents 
gleaming in the shade. All about us the undulating 



IN CAMP ON BIG CREEK. 69 

country stretched its naked, glaring surface ; not even 
clumps of bushes survived the scorching sun or the 
fierce tornadoes of wind that swept unchecked over 
the great unbroken stretch of country. 

Professor Hayden so clearly explains the peculiar 
formation of the plains that I here insert a few para- 
graphs from his account of the matter : 

We beUeve that at the close of the cretaceous period the 
ocean rolled uninterruptedly across the area now occupied 
by the Rocky Mountain Ranges. Near the close of the cre- 
taceous era the surface had reached an elevation so great as 
to form long lines of separation between the waters of the 
Atlantic, on the east, and those of the Pacific on the west ; 
and thus this great water-shed began to rise above the sur- 
rounding country. Then, also, began the existence of the 
first of that series of fresh-water lakes which we now know 
was a most prominent feature in the physical geography of 
this country during the tertiary period. 

During the cretaceous period there was a gradual, slow 
elevation of the whole country west of the Mississippi ; that 
about the close of that period the crust of the earth had 
been strained to its utmost tension, and long lines of fract- 
ure commenced, which formed the nucleus of our present 
mountain ranges. At the close of the cretaceous period, in 
the early days of the tertiary, when the crust had been ele- 
vated to its utmost tension, it broke sometimes in long lines 
of fracture, which gave birth to these lofty, continuous ranges 
along the eastern portion of the Rocky Mountains, as the 
Wind River, Big Horn, Black Hills, or the basaltic ridges 
formed by outbursts of melted matter arranged in series 
of sharp peaks or sierras. 

It is possible to trace the growth of the continent, step by 
step, from the purely marine waters of the cretaceous ocean 



70 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

and the period when the mountain ranges were elevated in 
well-defined lines above the waters, causing the ocean to re- 
cede to the eastward on the one side, and to the westward 
on the other. The Rocky Mountains formed immense water- 
sheds, which gave birth to innumerable fresh-v/ater streams, 
which fed those great tertiary lakes along the eastern slope, 
two out of the four or five, of great extent. We believe that 
one, the great Lignite basin, extends as far southward as 
California, possibly, westward over the mountains to Utah, 
and northward probably to the Arctic Sea, interrupted by 
the upheaval of mountain ranges. 

It is chiefly remarkable for its fossil flora of fan-palms 
and other tropical plants, which points to the conclusion 
that along the shores of this great lake grew luxuriant for- 
ests like those in Central America and Brazil. 



"We who roamed the vast plains had every reason to 
corroborate all the investigations that the scientists 
made. The great trackless waste of land all about our 
camp was like nothing but the sea, and the rolling 
country we rode over day after day was as if the earth 
had been indented by waves of a powerful ocean. We 
came sudde"nly, on our marches, upon canons that were 
sharp fissures in the earth extending for many miles. 
These chasms, in an otherwise comparatively level sur- 
face, could mean nothing but cracks in the cooling 
earth's crust, through which a mighty rush of water 
had once plunged, deepening and widening the gorge. 
If we halted for luncheon, and spread our simple meal 
on the stunted grass, we could reach about us and pick 
up the vertebrae of fish that had once glided through 
water where we then sat. 



IN CAMP ON BIG CREEK. 71 

In geological research the officers of our army have 
been of incalculable use to their Government. They 
explored the Indian infested countries long before the 
colleges or Government sent out scientists for the pur- 
pose. The remains of fishes, serpents, birds, crocodiles, 
lizards, turtles, bats, etc., were gathered by our officers 
and sent to the East. It was a strange sensation to 
find ourselves monarchs in a land which once was 
given up to all forms of vegetable and animal life, 
many varieties of which are now forever gone from 
the earth. The moss-agate was as common as the peb- 
bles along a country road, and we broke off large flakes 
of rough surface to find incased in its transparent tomb 
exquisite sprays of delicate foliage, which reproduced 
in stone the fairy, fragile flora of a by-gone time. 
There was nothing remaining of that time of exquisite 
herbage. The dull sage -bush, or grease -root, or the 
sparse buffalo-grass, were all that the sun spared from 
its scorching rays. 

The understanding was that we should have a per- 
manent camp during the summer. By that it was 
meant that the regiment would have a headquarters in 
the field, and scouting parties be sent out from it. As 
we were so near a post, it was not difficult to get all 
the canvas we wanted. Our regimental quartermaster 
made requisition for the tents, which would be return- 
ed to the post in the autumn. We felt very rich, for, 
by borrowing from our Uncle Sam, we had as many 
rooms as some houses have — that is, calling each tent 
a room. The sitting-room was a hospital tent which 



72 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

is perhaps fourteen by sixteen. It was clean, and had 
no association of illness to keep one awake with imag- 
inings at night. These huge tents are really designed 
for hospital purposes, but, fortunately, I never knew 
them to be used except in one epidemic of cholera. 
In the few cases of illness or injury occurring among 
the soldiers the patients were sent to a garrison hospi- 
tal, for most posts have a regular building for this pur- 
pose. Opening out at the rear of our sitting-room was 
our own room, a wall tent ten by twelve. In pitching 
these tents General Custer had an eye for a tree with 
wide-spreading branches to shade us, and in order to 
utilize it he put the tents on the side bank running 
down to the stream. Of course it was necessary to 
build up a rough embankment of stones and earth, and 
that left the tent floor at the rear almost up to the 
limbs of the tree. We then thought how foolish of 
us not to continue the floor around the tree. The com- 
pany carpenter built such a comfortable little platform, 
with a railing, that we felt as if we had a real gallery 
to our canvas house ; and sitting out there, Tom smok- 
ing, I sewing, and General Custer reading, we imagined 
Big Creek to be the Hudson, and the cotton -wood, 
whose foliage is anything but thick, to be a graceful 
maple or a stately, branching elm. Our brother Tom, 
while he enjoyed our arbor, refused to call it anything 
but the " beer-garden " — but calling names did not de- 
stroy our deliglit. The floors of the tents were an es- 
pecial luxury, for every board in that region counted, 
as it was difiicult to get lumber. The cotton -wood 



IN CAMP ON BIG CREEK. 73 

warped before it was fairly nailed down, and a pine 
plank even now looks to me like rare wealtli. 

The canvas of our rear tent was cut and bound, and 
a roller of wood to keep it down in wind-storms was 
sewed in, so that when tied up it left a broad window, 
seven feet wide, opening on the platform and giving a 
fine circulation of air. A huge tarpaulin of very thick 
canvas, used to cover grain and military stores, for 
which there was not room in the storehouses, was 
spread over the large tent and extended far in front, 
so that we had a wide porch, under which we sat most 
of the time. 

It was with great relief that I saw the holes dug in 
which to sink the poles at the four corners of each 
tent. These were usually young saplings with a notch 
near the top ; and across the two on either side was 
laid another long pole, to which the ropes were lashed 
so securely that no storm tore the tent down during all 
the summer. To have a whole summer of relief from 
fear that our cotton-house would blow over w^as a great 
boon, for a Kansas wind can do much havoc with can- 
vas, and it is not comfortable to lie watching a swaying 
ridge-pole in a storm and imagine yourself crushed in 
its downfall. 

We had, of course, only the barest necessities in the 
tents — a rude bunk for a bed, a stool, with tin wash- 
basin, a bucket for water, and a little shaving-glass for 
a mirror. The carpenter had nailed together some 
benches and a cumbrous table. These, with our camp- 
chairs, were our furniture. There was a monotonous 



74: FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

similarity of construction in the chairs made by the 
carpenter. Each consisted of one long board rounded 
at the top, to wliich another sliorter board was nailed 
for the seat, and another put on as a brace at the back. 
One of our friends had a chair of this pattern, and as 
her husband, coming home to the tent at dusk, saw this 
white -pine board gleaming through the twilight, he 
called out, merrily : " If you do ' turn up your toes to 
the daisies,' we can just set this up at your head, with 
the inscription, 'Died so-and-so'; it would make a 
beautiful tombstone." They were truly sepulchral- 
looking, but we were not inclined to be over-critical of 
the style. It never occurred to us that we wanted any- 
thing more; for if all the camp-chairs, benches, and 
stools were occupied, the young officers threw them- 
selves down on the buffalo -robes, or smoked sitting, 
d la Turque, on a blanket spread under the fly. Sev- 
eral Indian articles of luxury had been given us, out 
of which we had much comfort. They consisted of 
a light framework of interwoven willow withes about 
the width of a chair-back, and were called head-rests. 
These were laid on the ground, raised at the farther 
end at a gentle inclination, and strongly propped at the 
back. They could be rolled into small compass for car- 
rying, and were vastly superior in strength to anything 
we could buy. When the officers reclined on these 
primitive but comfortable affairs, smoking, they looked 
so at ease that we addressed them as " bashi-bazouk," 
or pacha, or by some Eastern term that suggested hab- 
its of luxurious indulgence. 



IN CAMP ON BIG CREEK. 75 

On the right of our tent began the others — one for 
guests, another for the dining-tent, then the round Sib- 
ley, that General Custer had used during the winter, 
for the cook tent. This must have been modelled af- 
ter an Indian tepee, as it looked much like it. At that 
time Sibley tents were not in use, but why, we could 
never understand, as the wind had so little purchase 
upon them, finding no corners to toy with, that this 
circular house could almost defy a hurricane. The fire 
was built in the centre, and the smoke escaped through 
an aperture at the top, which could be half covered, 
according to the direction of the wind, by pulling ropes 
attached to a little fly. The Indians had the same 
arrangement, only they managed the opening a little 
better. 

[N'ext to the Sibley Avas a veritable tepee, that Gen- 
eral Custer had brought from an abandoned Indian 
village. It was made of tanned buffalo skins sewed 
together with leather thongs, and stretched over a 
framework of thirty-six lodge-poles. These poles are 
fastened together at the top, and extend out in all 
directions above the hide covering. They are a pre- 
cious possession in the eyes of an Indian, as he is often 
obliged to travel hundreds of miles to procure them, in 
the heavily timbered part of the country, where strong, 
light, flexible saplings can be cut. The buffalo hides 
were covered with rude drawings representing the his- 
tory of the original owner, his prowess in killing Ind- 
ians at war with his tribe, the taking of the white man's 
scalp, or the stealing of ponies. Instead of the flap of 



76 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

the entrance opening down to the ground, the aperture 
began some distance up, so that one had to undo and 
pull out innumerable little sticks that were put through 
holes in the hide, and made quite a step up before get- 
ting into the tepee. As it was carefully staked down 
with picket -pins all about the edge, and a ditch was 
dug around to carry off the water, such a tepee could 
challenge almost any storm. In this house of the abo- 
rigine lived our Henry, a colored coachman, who had 
come with us from Virginia years before. Sometimes 
he was teased by having his possessions pilfered, some- 
times some one borrowed and forgot to return ; but 
after the general gave him the tepee to live in, and 
he had tied a dog inside, and fastened the flap with the 
wooden pins, his " traps " were secure, and he said : 
"'Tain't no kind or manner of use to try to lift* my 
plunder now ; for, as the soldiers say, ^ I got the bulge 
on all of em.'" Usually a small line was hung to a 
tree at the rear, proclaiming that all days were Mon- 
days with Henry. He was very neat, and the clothes 
swinging in the breeze were his washing. He said to 
me one day : " The general jest tries to tease me about 
my washin'. I jest tell him, 'I ain't no Chinee, gen- 
eral, and can't wash any but my Government clothes, 
but those can't be beat.' " 

We were living quite apart from the main camp, in 
a little curve in the creek. The two other officers who 
had brought their wives out joined us, and put their 

* "Lift," a word meaning steal. 



IN CAMP ON BIG CREEK. 77 

tents farther on in the bend. Nearer the prairie the 
parade-ground began, then the rows of tents of the 
companies and the picket -ropes for the horses. The 
soldiers lived in "A" tents, so called because thej have 
no side walls, but slope directly from the ground to the 
ridge-pole which joins the two upright poles, one at 
either end. At the end of each company street stood 
a wall tent for the first sergeant, who, as ranking non- 
commissioned officer of the company, is a great person- 
age with the enlisted men. At a little distance, facing 
the company street, were the tents of the captain and 
lieutenant of each company. The sutler's tent was far- 
ther on at the other end of the line. Nearer us was a 
great room put up by the soldiers for their own enter- 
tainment. It was built of a framework of logs and 
cotton-wood slabs, over which were nailed tarpaulins. 
It was dignified by the name of the Opera House. The 
sutler lent a billiard-table, and in this improvised hall 
the soldiers could give minstrel performances or con- 
certs. There is always in the ranks much amateur and 
sometimes some professional " talent." There were the 
clog-dancers, who were the idols of our regiment. How 
they managed to carry their professional shoes and 
tights was always a secret. The soldier is only allowed 
his haversack for his food and his overcoat, inside of 
which he can squeeze a few things. The roll at the 
back of the saddle is made up very tight on parades 
and inspection days, but on a march an indulgent offi- 
cer allows the bundle to expand so that it mounts half- 
way up the soldier's back. If the officer is strict, he 



78 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

demands to see the inside of this roll and orders it re- 
duced; then the soldier makes friends with the team- 
ster who drives the one wagon with the company prop- 
erty, and the violin, accordion, banjo, or other extra, 
like the clog-dancer's shoes, is slipped into the box nn- 
der the driver's seat, and no one thinks of " inspect- 
ing" him. 

A teamster is rather an independent sort of being. 
He swears and growls, and when his wagon is stuck in 
qnicksand, or up to the hub in mud, no one ventures 
to enter into conversation with him. He has ways, 
last resorts for stirring his animals from lethargy into 
activity, but in emergencies he communes only with 
himself or with them. The soldiers may be directed 
to "man the wheels," and after fifty are tugging at 
the ropes that are fastened to the axles, calling out 
" Heave ho !" as sailors do at each new struggle, the 
teamster's voice rises above all in invectives that are 
startling to every one except the mules. But the big 
hearts of these frontiersmen are something to remem- 
ber. They are very apt to share everything they have 
with wlioever comes along. They hide and coddle a 
little fyst dog, or make a soft place for a pet antelope, 
and take care of these creatures like trained nurses. 

During the war there were some splendid stories 
told of army teamsters. Ferocious and blasphemous 
as they seemed to be, they took many steps to aid the 
freedman, and permitted the ragged, half-starved, foot- 
sore children of the plantations — for they were, even 
at sixty years of age, nothing but children — to share 



IN CA^IP ON BIG GREEK. 79 

their seats or their fare with them. The story that 
stays by me is of a burly driver who fearlessly tended 
a little negro baby, whose mother had abandoned it by 
the road-side. It is the sarcasm and bantering that 
makes all of us hide our good deeds, or prevents our 
doing any at all in public — but this tender-hearted 
man let hundreds of soldiers pass him as his wagon 
was being dragged slowly along by the tired mules, 
and heard, quite unmoved, the ribaldry and the keen 
wit which comes from a line of soldiers, and which 
sets the company into roars of laughter, while he held 
the little pickaninny w^ith one arm and managed the 
reins with the other. 

General Custer was genuinely attached to the Gov- 
ernment teamster who drove his headquarters wagon 
during the campaign of the winter. He was very in- 
telligent, and as some of our teamsters then were old 
stage-drivers, they had a fund of anecdote and valuable 
information about what they called the " lay of the 
land," the features of the country, etc. Our teamster 
was rarely moved to wrath, nor did he seem capable of 
becoming excited over any occurrence. By some rare 
mode of silent understanding the driver and the mas- 
ter became deeply attached to each other. If General 
Custer came with his orderly galloping up to the wag- 
on at the rear wdth game, or with the head of an elk 
or a buffalo to preserve, the driver found a place for 
the article in his crowded wagon, and his own little 
camp-fire at night crackled as the buffalo, antelope, 
or venison steak given him dropped its fat from the 



80 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

stick on which he broiled his supper. When the sum- 
mer was ended, and these two were about to part, Gen- 
eral Custer asked for his picture, but what was his 
disappointment when he found the patched and pictu- 
resque clothes of the summer were replaced for the 
occasion by new " store clothes ;" a thing which took 
all the naturalness away. 

The pleasure of our camp life was greatly enhanced 
by our being so near the post. Fort Hays was com- 
manded by General JSTelson Miles, who had been but a 
short time on the plains, and though an infantry colo- 
nel, was at heart a true cavalryman, and entirely in 
sympathy with our branch of the service. The man- 
ner in which he welcomed our regiment, ragged and 
travel-stained from their long campaign, won all hearts. 
The band in full uniform was sent to accompany the 
regiment for a distance, and played the Seventh Cavalry 
tune, " Garryowen." General Miles rode at the head 
of the column, and all the officers came from their 
companies to join him for the short distance he rode 
with us. He did not hesitate to say that he envied 
the success of the regiment, and should emulate their 
successful mode of Indian fighting as soon as he had 
an opportunity. 

Of course, with such a reception we knew that we 
were all quite welcome, and though we had little to 
offer them in the way of hospitality, it was always a 
pleasant sight to us when an ambulance from the post 
came in view round the bend, filled with ladies with 
cavaliers as outriders. 



IN CAMP ON BIG CKEEK. 81 

The post was about as dreary a spot as can be im- 
agined. I do not remember a tree near it, and the 
sparse, stunted grass on the scorched parade-ground 
was scarcely green. The officers' quarters were almost 
as plain and bare as the soldiers' barracks, and were 
crowded. Two families, I remember, who were not 
friendly, were obliged to live in a double set of quarters. 
The hall was narrow, the rooms were small, and the walls 
so thin that every word spoken on one side could be 
distinctly heard on the other. The wife of one of our 
Seventh Cavalry officers was the occupant of the quar- 
ters on one side, and the wife of an infantry officer lived 
on the other. A swarm of little children prevented 
the cavalry officer's wife from coming to camp to live, 
but she consoled herself as best she could by the per- 
mit her husband received to spend from Saturday night 
till Monday morning" of every week at home. The 
husband and wife were of different nationalities, and 
though sincerely attached to each other, they were 
of such decided natures that they disagreed on many 
points. When the children were all in bed on Satur- 
day night it became necessary, as the wife told me, 
that the question at issue, whatever it might be, should 
be talked over — each endeavoring, I suppose, to con- 
vince the other that he or she was wrong. But, as the 
madame further explained, it was impossible, while her 
enemy was on the other side of so thin a wall, to enter 
into any animated discussion, lest she and her spouse 
should be accused of serious quarrelling ; so, as she ex- 
pressed it, " We were obliged to go out on the parade- 
6 



82 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

ground and have it out there." Then, when the ar- 
gument was done and tlie domestic air cleared, they 
returned to their cramped little quarters, the wife 
cooked her companion an excellent supper, and harmo- 
ny reigned until the next difference of opinion. A 
government that deprives a man of the luxury of a 
Caudle lecture may have male suj^porters in plenty, 
but no one can uphold a parsimonious country in de- 
priving a man and woman of the privilege of arguing — 
to put it mildly — and compelling them both to take to 
the open prairie to do the necessary convincing. In 
this small and uncomfortable post there was much 
happiness, harmony, and generous hospitality, and we 
joined in many a little merrymaking among the cord- 
ial people. 

They scarcely realized what pleasure they gave us. 
We are told something of one who gives a cup of wa- 
ter to a thirsty man, but when in this case it turned 
out to be ice-water, those who were condemned habitu- 
ally to drink the rather warm water of Big Creek were 
anxious to add a line to the blessing in token of grati- 
tude. Our young officers sometimes came home at 
night from the post, after an evening's hospitality, 
full of boyish delight over a pie or a cake baked on 
purpose for them, and almost ludicrously grateful for 
the ministration to appetites long unused to dainty 
gratification. 



fatiaue. 




^t^f^^E3E 



iEii^&lgl^ 




CHAPTER VII. 



INDIAN PKISONEKS 



The one feature of great interest at tlie post was 
the presence of the Indian prisoners brought from the 
battle of the Washita. General Custer was obliged to 
go to them very often, as he had learned their sign- 
language, and his scout, who spoke their dialect, acted 
as interpreter. It happened, therefore, that we often 
rode up on horseback, or I drove in our large travel- 
ling carriage to take guests, who were constantly com- 
ing by the Eastern trains. 

It was an unprecedented event to have sixty Indians 
from warlike tribes on whom we could safely look, 
or with whom we could actually visit. I cannot say 
that I mounted my horse with perfect tranquillity the 
first time General Custer took me up to see them^ 
nor that the hand that held my Phil was quite steady. 



84: FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

Though there were but three chiefs among them, and 
those carefully guarded, I had a perfect knowledge of 
what desperate work the squaws and children had done 
in the battle ; and our own General Gibbs described a 
charge he had made into an Indian village before the 
war, wdiere he had seen an old squaw cease for an in- 
stant stirring her soup, snatch her knife from her 
belt, plunge it into a soldier who was unsuspicious of a 
woman as a warrior, resume her soup-stirring perfectly 
imperturbed, not even looking at the dead soldier at 
her side. All these, and many more such tales, from 
my friends who had been eye-witnesses, made the road 
from camp to Hays a purgatory to me, and for once 
my side of the conversation languished. General Cus- 
ter understood that silence meant fright with me, as 
scarcely anytliing save fright kept me still, and he re- 
assured me over and over again. lie reminded me 
that every advantage was ours — that these were whip- 
ped and, consequently, peaceful Indians ; but Indians 
were Indians to me, and no amount of explanation 
quieted my agitation. 

To add to my fears, I found Phil trembling as we 
neared the high stockade which had been built next to 
the guard-house. Horses once thorouglily frightened 
by Indians never quite recover from their panic. Their 
sense of smell is so keen that they early begin to man- 
ifest their inward perturbation by the quivering ears, 
which express so much. I had all I could do to keep 
Phil from turning back to camp, and had not my rep- 
utation for horsemanship been at stake I should have 



INDIAN PRISONERS. 85 

liked to give him liis liead, for I wanted to go back 
just as badly as he wanted to take me in that direc- 
tion. It was a relief to dismount and give the restless 
brute to the orderly, for as I was riding with a snaffle- 
bit to get a smoother gait, he had nearly dragged my 
arms from their sockets. 

The stockade where the prisoners were confined was 
perhaps fifteen feet high, and made of perpendicular 
logs driven deep into the ground. Near the top ran a 
sentinel's walk around the whole corral. The enclosure 
was big enough to hold several large tents, and yet leave 
a good-sized vacant place where the children could play. 
"We ascended the steps by which the sentinel reached 
his beat, and looked down upon the occupants, but this 
did not satisfy General Custer. He took me inside ; 
and, as the crowd of women and children gathered 
around me, I almost felt knives penetrating my dress 
for a deadly stab, so great was my distress. I was in- 
troduced, and at once was an object of great interest, 
for General Custer had established confidence in them 
and they trusted his word. Moreover, there is no de- 
nying that a man who has once conquered Indians in 
battle commands ""the deepest admiration possible to 
their natures. When he told the squaws that I was 
his wife they made a sign to ask if I was the .only one; 
and an expression of compassion came into their faces 
when he said yes, for among some of the tribes an Ind- 
ian is always very much married if he is a chief of any 
consequence. Possibly they imagined that a white wife 
has the same amount of labor to perform for her hus- 



86 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

band that a chief's squaws have, and they pitied me. 
Polygamy has its advantages when it provides for a 
division of the heavy labor done by the squaw wives. 

The squaws came still closer, put their hands on my 
shoulder, smoothing and caressing me. Others took 
my hand in tlieir horny old palms, the touch of which 
moved me to pity, as ft revealed the amount and kind 
of work that they had done; but, worst of all, the 
oldest, most withered and wizened of them laid their 
cheeks against mine^ after the manner of their kissing. 
For once I was grateful that there are fashions in os- 
culation as there are in everything else. 

I kept my eyes furtively on the entrance, looked 
stealthily towards the sentinel, and sought a reassuring 
look from General Custer. The squaws and children 
had many requests to make, and being busy with them, 
he had no idea how tremulous were my steps, for after 
reassuring me at the gate he supposed that my fears 
had departed. Besides, he too was soon the centre of 
a group of old hags, who drew his head down to lay 
their parchment cheeks against his, and crooned some 
gibberish over him. 

It is strangely difficult to realize that deaf people 
or foreigners do not understand us, and in speaking 
of them in their presence we involuntarily lower our 
voices. I asked under my breath why the old women 
singled him out, and made him submit to the kind of 
caresses they had invented, while the young and coy 
faces were seen shyly hanging back on the outer limits 
of the circle. He explained, in a word or two, that 



INDIAN PRISONERS. 87 

among certain tribes it was deemed eminently proper 
for the grandmothers and elderly squaws to embrace 
strangers, but it was not permitted to the young girls 
either to receive or to offer such familiarities. 

I forced a smile of feigned pleasure at all the atten- 
tions bestowed upon me, and so hid my tremors and 
my revulsion, but inwardly I wished with all my heart 
that the younger and prettier women had been detail- 
ed as a reception committee. The cunning and crafty 
looks of the antique ones kept me imagining that knives 
were hidden in the voluminous folds of their blankets, 
and that, quick as thought, they might plunge one into 
us as we stood there defenceless, for General Custer, to 
inspire confidence in these prisoners, entered the en- 
closure unarmed. 

The old women were most repulsive in their appear- 
ance. The hair was thin and wiry, scattering over their 
shoulders and hanging over their eyes. Their faces 
were seamed and lined with such furrows as come from 
the hardest toil, and the most terrible exposure to every 
kind of weather and hardship, as the roving life took 
them sometimes to the bleak north, and again as far as 
the hot suns of Texas. The dull and sunken eyes seem- 
ed to be shrivelled like their skins. The ears of these 
hideous old frights were punctured with holes from 
the top to the lobe, where rings once hung, but torn 
out, or so enlarged as they were by years of carrying 
the weight of heavy brass ornaments, the orifices were 
now empty, and the ragged look of the skin was repug- 
nant to me. 



88 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

They wore one garment, cut in the most primitive 
manner, and over tins a blanket, held in at the waist 
by the rough leather belt into which they had driven 
as many brass-headed nails as it would hold. As this 
blanket fell loosely over the belt, they made it a recep- 
tacle for every sort of utensil or household article, and 
were constantly thrusting their hands into its ample 
folds and bringing forth strange objects. It was at 
this opening of the garment that I gazed, expecting 
that each successive article would be the dreaded weapon 
with which to despatch me. 

The bent old Avitches were curious beyond concep- 
tion about every object I had on, and with an effort to 
suppress the terrified start with which I felt my hair 
being examined at my back, I made an effort to bend 
my head in politeness while the bird on my hat was 
fingered. They compared my hair to theirs, laying the 
two side by side, and generously giving mine the pref- 
erence. The children were called to admire the mili- 
tary buttons on my habit, as on the plains our riding 
costumes were nmcli gayer than the regulation habits 
we wore near or in a city. My hand was imprisoned, 
and the kid stroked and toyed with, while an inquiry 
was made, by signs to General Custer, asking what 
young animal ever wore that soft skin. While they 
bent over the hand General Custer said to me in a low 
monotone, for the purpose of teasing by frightening 
me, "They would admire those gloves, even to the 
point of possession, should they catch you alone out- 
side the post !" It was all I could do not to snatch my 



INDIAN PRISONERS. 89 

hand away, and run as hard as I could to the exit of 
the stockade. 

Even my feet were not neglected, and comparisons 
ensued ; but they disapproved of my shoes, thinking 
their soft, pliable moccasins preferable. After all this 
careful inspection they turned to General Custer and 
gave their opinion of me, which amused him hugely ; 
but I was denied a translation of their verdict. 

Meanwhile the future warriors of the tribe danced 
around us, yelling and gesticulating like embryo chiefs. 
They played like other children in racing, catching 
each other, and scuffling; but their arrow shooting 
showed how truly the child is father to the man. It 
was done with the coolest, steadiest -handed, most 
"nervy" skill of a trained marksman. Even the tini- 
est, with his one little garment fluttering in the breeze, 
could handle a bow with the grace and dexterity of 
the matured boys. The latter w^ere naked save for 
the cincture about their loins, but still the little girls, 
burdened with a blanket, belted on like their mothers', 
could fly over the ground as lightly and swiftly as the 
bronzed legs that followed them in pursuit. The pap- 
pooses came the nearest of anything in that strange 
place to making me forget my trepidation. Swathed 
in innumerable bandages wound tightly round the lit- 
tle form, as is the Italian bambino, it was a wonder 
that the bright, black beads of eyes looked out from 
the nest as contentedly as they did. If one unaccus- 
tomed to children trembles to hold a white infant be- 
cause the sprawling arms and limbs seem to be drop- 



90 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

ping off, there is no such difficulty with a pappoose. It 
is gathered into a little cocoon-like roll that stays where 
you put it, because the limbs are lashed into absolute 
quietude. The brown mothers were just as suscepti- 
ble to flattery concerning their babies as white women 
are, and understood as readily as if they spoke our lan- 
guage that everything we said was praise. We said, 
sotto voce, " Talk about a universal language, there is 
one, and it is flattery." 

There was one little scion of the race in whom we 
felt extreme interest, because it had been born after 
the prisoners were taken at the battle of the "Washita. 
Its mother deserves the first word. Her two names, 
Nav-a-rouc-ta and Mo-nah-se-tah, were so musical that 
they well became the comely squaw. The latter meant 
" The grass that shoots in the spring." She was the 
Princess, the ranking woman among them all, being 
the daughter of Little Eock, who, since the death of 
Black Kettle, in the battle of the Washita, was the 
highest in authority among the Cheyennes. During 
the winter her intelligence and judgment had been of 
service in the attempts that had been made to bring 
the tribes to surrender. When couriers from among 
the Indians, who had previously given themselves up, 
had been sent out to their villages to try to induce the 
others to come in, Mo-nah-se-tah had been consulted 
and her advice taken. Mah-wis-sa, sister of Black 
Kettle, had been a powerful ally in endeavoring to 
bring her tribe to terms of peace, but when she went 
on a journey to her village her people detained her. 



INDIAN PRISONERS. 91 

sending back the warrior who accompanied her with 
the messages. 

Mo-nah-se-tah could be most useful in examining a 
trail, and the painstaking of her patient search was' 
something wonderful to watch. The bones of the 
game killed by the party encamping, the fur or skin 
of the animals, the ashes of the camp-fire, all the small 
and apparently unimportant details were suggestions 
to her. The condition of the marrow in the bones 
told her the length of time the game had been killed, 
the ashes yielded np their testimony as to when they 
had been red with the glow of a camp-fire. Of course 
the troopers soon learned to trace a trail when ponies' 
hoofs and lodge-poles had beaten down the grass, but 
for subtle study of the smaller signs no one could 
equal an Indian, and above all a squaw, on account 
of her delicate touch and her untiring patience. 

Mo-nah-se-tah had in many other ways made herself 
of service to the command. She was young and at- 
tractive, perfectly contented, and trustful of the white 
man's promises, and the acknowledged belle among all 
other Indian maidens. Until a girl is married her life 
with her tribe is one of ease. The older women wait 
on her, and no duty or labor is ever exacted. The idle 
lolling of the young girls about an Indian village is in 
strange contrast to the untiring industry of the mar- 
ried women. Work of the most exhausting kind be- 
comes their portion after marriage. The game may 
be shot by the braves, but it is the women who ride 
out to the hunting-ground, bring back and prepare the 



92 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

animal for use, jerking the meat — that is, cutting it in 
strips and drying it on poles — and tanning the skin. I 
never heard of a buffalo-robe being dressed by an Ind- 
ian man. The women tanned all of them. There is 
a great amount of work necessary to tan a buffalo-hide. 
It is, while still pliable, stretched on the ground and 
tacked down on the edge very closely with small 
wooden pegs. Then, day after day, the squaw bends 
over the skin, rubbing it with a very hard bit of stone 
that is kept for the purpose. When the hide is soft 
and quite white her lord often sketches his career on 
the surface. The figures are usually painted in red, 
blue, and yellow, and the pictorial history consists of 
the number of Indians at war with the tribe, or the 
number of white men the invincible has shot. Some- 
times a buffalo hunt is added. It is almost invariably 
the chiefs public life that is delineated : domestic de- 
tail seems to him too insignificant, and besides, it would 
elevate the servile squaw to a plane she is never al- 
lowed to reach. The hauling of wood and water, the 
pitching of tepees, the packing of camp equipage, and 
the braiding and embroidery of the war garments, to- 
bacco-pouches, and gun-cases of the warriors, besides 
cooking the food and the care of the children, left no 
idle hour, and so the freshness of youth soon departed 
from the face of a bride. 

Mo-nah-se-tah had not been married long enough to 
fade and grow old with manual labor. Her one matri- 
monial venture had not been successful. The Indian 
women, like the French, have their marriages arranged 



INDIAN PRISONERS. 93 

for them bj the parents, as a rule. It is true there 
are elopements, and in some tribes if a brave can get 
his sweetheart away from the village for twentj-fonr 
hours it is equivalent to a marriage ceremony, and op- 
position ceases when he returns. Most of the unions 
are wholly practical, however. The young w^arrior has 
to show himself to be worth so many ponies or other 
commodities that constitute wealth with the red man. 
He buys his wife, in other words. The wife costs all 
the way from two ponies up. The real road to these 
dusky maidens' hearts is the reputation the lover bears 
for deeds of valor. These are never hidden under a 
bushel, for at every war-dance each warrior airs his 
record with entirely unblushing egotism. This prow- 
ess does not count, however, with the father in the 
dickering for his daughter. 

The daily intercourse of men and women in an Ind- 
ian family is not as free as in ours. The first son-in- 
law, the husband of the eldest daughter, takes prece- 
dence after the father. Should the latter die, all the 
questions of the family government are decided by 
this son-in-law, and no marriage is contracted but by 
his consent. The laws prevent his speaking to his 
mother-in-law, or even remaining in the tepee with 
her if they are alone. A sister and brother cannot 
speak together. The girls of some tribes are so care- 
fully guarded that their only opportunity for love- 
making is perhaps when they go for water to the 
stream. The affection of Indians for their babies is 
a well-known trait. Even at a solemn council, when 



94 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

General Custer was discussing some subject with them, 
the talking ceased when a babe far on the outskirts of 
the log-hut, where the band of Indians were staying 
near our post, began to cry. The mother, uneasy at 
the interruption her child had caused, gave it to the 
squaws near, to pass it on to the father, who was out- 
side. The infant was handed on till" it reached the 
council, the old chiefs each took it, giving it tenderly 
from one to another, till the father at the door re- 
ceived the little one and stilled its cries. "While all 
this went on there was complete silence. General 
Custer remained watching the scene quietly, and the 
interpreter observed tli^e event interestedly, all the 
Indians and squaws looking on ; the council neither 
spoke nor moved until the pappoose was quieted. 

Mo-nah-se-tah found the husband her father had 
chosen a. very distasteful one, and being, I suppose, 
somewhat spoiled, owing to her exalted rank, she re- 
fused to do all the grovelling labor expected of her, 
and became unmanageable. Neither threats nor warn- 
ings moved her, and when her liege attempted to force 
her to submission she shot him, crippling him for life. 
There seemed to be no course open for them but di- 
vorce, which is such a simple affair among the Indians 
that the return of the eleven ponies by Little Rock to 
the irate husband constituted a quitclaim to the pos- 
session of his daughter. The birth of her baby after 
her capture, her high position, and the stories from the 
Indian scouts of the lofty manner in which she had 
reminded her husband of her superiority of birth, all 



INDIAN PRISONERS. 95 

made me anxious to see her ; and yet, when the soft 
eyes smiled on me, I instantly remembered how they 
must have flashed in anger when she suddenly, and to 
her husband's surprise, drew the pistol from under her 
blanket and did him the greatest injury, next to death, 
that can happen to an active warrior. How could I 
help feeling that with a swift movement she would 
produce a hidden weapon, and by stabbing the wife, 
hurt the white chief who had captured her, in what 
she believed would be the most cruel way. Her dis- 
cernment in taking from her hated husband all that 
makes life valuable to an Indian warrior — that is, his 
capacity to hunt or to fight — would perhaps make her 
keen to discover equally effective means of harming 
the foes who had triumphed over her. 

But the baby disarmed me. ^'A little child shall 
lead them," and so it did me. Mo-nah-se-tah, when 
called, slid away from the outer circle of the crowd 
and ran into a tent, dropped the ugly gray Government 
blanket and threw about her a red one, coming forward 
to us shyly, and modestly hanging her head. Her face 
was not pretty in repose, except with the beauty of 
youth, whose dimples and curves and rounded out- 
lines are always charming. The features of the Indian 
women are rarely delicate, high cheek-bones and square 
jaw being the prevailing type. Mo-nah-se-tah let the 
blanket fall from her glossy hair, her white, even teeth 
gleamed as she smiled, and the expression transfigured 
her, and made us forget her features. I missed the 
paint that the beauties of the village usually lay on 



96 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

with no sparing hand ; for even though it is but a 
big blotch of color on either cheek, it certainly im- 
proves the brown skin. Of course we asked for the 
baby, feeling unusual interest in a captive born within 
our lines. Mo-nah-se-tah turned to a bent old crone 
who had the honor to be grandmother to this rather 
imperious granddaughter, and authoritatively ordered 
her to bring the child. It was a cunning little bundle 
of brown velvet, with the same bright, bead-like eyes 
as the rest. The mother saw a difference, doubtless. 
She was full of maternal pride, and ran into the tent 
again to bring a ferrotype of this young chieftain that 
had been taken by a travelling photographer who 
stopped at the post. We were amused and rather sur- 
prised at her quick observation, and at the perplexity 
in her face as she asked with signs why the pappoose 
was on the left arm in the picture while she had held 
it in her right when sitting. It was rather difficult 
for General Custer to explain the photographer's art 
to this woman, ignorant of any world outside the Ind- 
ian village, and I think the mystified and superstitious 
look after he finished meant that she should continue 
to think as she did at first — that it was the interven- 
tion of the Great Sjiirit which changes a baby in its 
mother's arms without her knowledge. Though she 
was so proud and fond of the little creature, she offered 
it to us to keep until she should return to her people. 
I presume I should have accepted this somewhat em- 
barrassing gift (from sheer fear of the consequences I 
dreaded if I declined) had not the other head of the 



INDIAN PEISONERS. 97 

house had the tact to assure the mother that we could 
not think of robbing her, however sincere her generos- 
ity might be. 

Mo-nali-se-tah's hair was braided, and this fearless 
departure from the custom of the Indian women was 
due to her admiration for the Irish woman to whom 
reference has been made as having been a cook, and 
the only woman on the expedition during the previous 
winter. Another departure from custom was her ac- 
ceptance of the name our brother Tom gave her. He 
gave up trying to pronounce the musical sobriquet, 
and took " ' Sallie Ann,' for short," he said. Mo-nah- 
se-tah had no other feeling but pleasure at the ex- 
change, and she was rarely addressed by any other 
name. Colonel Tom himself had been rechristened 
by the Indians, and though Mouksa sounds very well 
to the ear, the peculiar intonation the officers gave it 
betrayed a teasing significance, which the translation 
" Buffalo Calf " may explain. 

Mo-nah-se-tah seemed to trust the word of our peo- 
ple from the first. She believed that in time the cap- 
tives would be released ; and, with this trust in the 
promises of those who had won the victory over her 
people, she made a most tractable captive ; and as she 
was the highest in authority among the prisoners, her 
influence had weight with the rest of her people. 
7 



Zo Brma! 






|:e=^=^ £=^^^=gz jjg Eg^^^ 




CHAPTER VIII. 

CORKAL OF THE CAPTIVES. 

While we walked about the corral, waiting for the 
council for which the women clamored, we saw the 
three chiefs Fat Bear, Dull Knife, and Big Head being 
prepared for the solemn powwow. They were oiled 
and combed, the occasional stray hair on their beardless 
chins plucked out with tweezers — for Indians despise a 
beard — the vermilion laid oh their cheeks, their gaudy 
beaded and embroidered garments fitted and smoothed 
upon them, their moccasins and leggings fastened, and 
the very pipes put into their indolent fingers by the 
usual valets of Indian warriors, the servile squaws. 

The officers constantly made comparisons, and sug- 
gested changes in their domestic life in imitation, and 
roguishly affected to think that while we, as a people, 
might be in advance of the red man in some forms of 
civilization, we were not so in all. 

Among the squaws tliat clustered around us was one 
who began a sign conversation with General Custer 
about the battle of the Washita. She walked away for 
a moment, returning with her two sons, striplings of 



CORRAL OF THE CAPTIVES. 99 

boys, who, she asked General Custer to tell us, had lost 
their father in the light. The tears ran down her 
cheeks as she talked on with her eager fingers, and 
though answering tears rose in mine, I could not but 
look at the promise of athletic strength in the children, 
and wish with all my soul that instead of these embryo 
warriors she might have had daughters, who would nev- 
er be reared to go to war. It was strange how these 
little fellows reproduced tlieir fathers as soon as they 
could toddle. When any of the hunting parties re- 
turned the prisoners had buffalo-meat served to them, 
and these tiny sons of braves cut strips from the raw 
meat and ate it, turning with wide-eyed wonder when 
we exclaimed at this evidence of barbaric tastes. 

Amone: the tailless curs that scurried and skulked in 
and out of the tents there was a yellow one which was 
ill, and when our brother Tom came a second time he 
asked where it was. The squaws pointed nonchalant- 
ly to the iron dinner-pot, where the steam was rising 
from the poor dog's dismembered body, as it was being 
cooked for dinner. Tom in his quaint way bowed to 
the old frights, and promptly declined, most urbanely, 
an invitation to dine that had never been given, and 
which declination was of course all gibberish to the 
women. 

Among the squaws was one who had holes shot 
through her blanket in the Washita battle. When we 
visited the corral she always held out the blanket and 
pointed to them, making a sound, " ping! ping !" to sug- 
gest what had occurred when the bullets went through. 



100 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

There was another old creature wliose little finger 
had been mutilated, as is the custom of Indians when 
mourning. She had taken all the flesh from it, and 
then blackened the bone in commemoration of the dead. 
The squaws sometimes give away all their clothes, as 
one manner of showing their grief at the death of one 
of their family, and another way of mourning is to cut 
off all their hair. Some of the southern tribes believe 
that the spirits of horses accompany the spirit of a dead 
man to the happy hunting-ground. In the death of 
Colore w, leader of the Meeker massacre, thirty or forty 
horses were shot by young braves. 

Finally the three chiefs were pronounced ready, un- 
der the hands of their adorners, and we were signed to 
enter the tent, where the eager women, who had been 
all impatience, quickly followed. General Custer told 
me what an innovation it was to allow me to enter, and 
what an honor the three chiefs considered they had con- 
ferred upon me in shaking my hand ; but I could have 
foregone the distinction, for, in the presence of these 
gigantic, fierce, and gloomy chiefs, my quakings began 
anew, and if the council could have taken place with 
both of us on the other side of the stockade, looking 
over, no matter how much such a position might have 
lacked in dignity, I should have been relieved. I took 
my place on the robe beside General Custer, who sat 
a la T\irque^ like the Indians. The usual solemn, silent 
preface to all councils ensued. The restless impatience 
of women and children, admitted on this rare occasion 
to a ceremony from which the chiefs usually excluded 



CORRAL OF THE CAPTIVES. 101 

them, was exhibited in the eager eyes, and the nest- 
ling, nervous moving. A sqnaw lighted the inevitable 
pipe of red clay, with its long wooden stem, at the end 
of which beads were cunningly interwoven with the del- 
icate, brilliant feathers of rare birds. The oldest of the 
chiefs received it first, took a whiff, then the others fol- 
lowed with a prolonged inhaling of the fragrant kinni- 
kinnic and it was passed to General Custer, who heroi- 
cally followed the example. Even in this small coun- 
cil of four the Indian rules were rigidly observed, and 
the seats were placed on a line from west to east, so that 
all should face the south. The pipe is always handed 
to the one nearest the east, and follows the course of the 
sun, not going back, but being handed across. 

Having been treated with so much honor as to be ad- 
mitted to a council, I inwardly trembled for fear the 
honors would not stop there ; but, fortunately, the pipe 
was kept circulating only among the four. It requires 
infinite patience to wait for speech from these taciturn 
beings. To be shut up in a Sibley tent with a crowd 
of Indians on a warm day was not an experience that 
one longed to repeat. Added to the odors and close- 
ness, there was still a fire in the ground, in the centre 
of the tent, where the squaws had been preparing the 
dinner for the conquering heroes they served. 

The kinni-kinnic saved our nostrils from what would 
have been a still more insufferable infliction. It is a 
mixture of willow bark, sumach leaves, sage leaf, and 
tobacco, and this is thoroughly mingled with marrow 
from buffalo bones. 



102 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

In vain I buried my rebellious nose in my handker- 
chief. I seemed hopelessly permeated with the pecul- 
iar Indian odor, but etiquette forbade my going into 
the open air. When the silent trio at last signified 
their willingness to talk, the squaws were reanimated, 
for the subject of the conference was their exchange 
and return to their village. The utmost caution was 
necessary not to hurt the feelings of the chiefs, and to 
signify impatience or haste is, in their estimation, an 
insult to them. Many questions were put to General 
Custer. The replies, from first to last, were that as 
soon as every white man, woman, and child was released 
from captivity the Indian prisoners should be allowed 
to return to their homes. Grunts of satisfaction, fur- 
ther exchanges of the pipe, more hand-shaking, and we 
escaped into the open air. 

Our visits were quite frequently repeated. Eliza, our 
colored cook, who was introduced in Tenting on the 
Plains^ has recently given me her recollections of her 
first visit with us to the corral. We took her every- 
where that it was possible to take her, in order to vary 
the monotony of the life of deprivation she endured 
for us, and we were always rewarded by enthusiastic 
gratitude ; and her descriptions, afterwards given to 
the home people in the States, were more graphic than 
any we could furnish. Here is Eliza's account of her 
initiation into the mysteries : 

"The ginnel asked me didn't I want to see Ingins. 
You know. Miss Libbie, I had never saw one afo'. I 
went in the big gate with the ginnel. You went up 



CORRAL OF THE CAPTIVES. 103 

the steps wliere the guard was, where you could look 
down on the whole sixty. Ginnel told them with his 
fingers who I was, and called me black squaw. Miss 
Libbie, they had never seen a colored person afo'. 
They felt of me, rolled up my sleeve to see if I was 
brown under my dress, they patted me on the shoul- 
der. I went into a tepee, and was looking at how 
they lived, and at a pappoose that was strapped to a 
board and lay in a corner as quiet as a mouse. 

" Well, to be cunning, the ginnel slipped out when I 
didn't notice it, and they w^as making ready to give 
me a pipe to have me smoke their tobacco, for kind 
of friendship like, among the old squaws. I looked 
around and found the ginnel gone, and I took one leap 
and lit out of thar in a jiffy. The ginnel was watch- 
ing and laughing at me, and the squaws, when they 
saw I was so scared, they just shouted. Well, I was 
scared, and I hadn't got no use for them nohow. They 
clapped their hands and yelled to think the black 
squaw was so afraid of 'em. Pretty soon they all 
come right up round the ginnel and began to moan 
and cry, and move their hands slowly together, and 
make signs* to know how long it was before they 
went home to their people — how many moons — and 

* Extracts from Clark's Indian Sign Language: — 1. Moon. 
Conception : Night sun. — Make siga for Night (see 2), and then 
partially curve the thumb and index of right hand, space of about 
an inch between tips, closing other fingers; then raise the hand in 
a direction a little to south of zenith and well up, the plane of the 
circle formed with index and thumb perpendicular to the line of 
sight from the eye, through the incomplete circle of thumb and 



104 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

they made a pretty sign for moon. When the ginnel 
made signs, ' right away,' by closing his pahns, to tell 
them the time was come, they rejoiced. Miss Libbie, I 
never did see such hard old women. They looked like 
they had been lashed with trouble ; they was bent and 
wrinkled, and carrying such loads I don't know how 
they did wag themselves along. This was when they 
was leaving." 

The squaws had some small sense of humor. When, 
on one of our visits, an officer whom they knew well 
took his wife in to see the prisoners, one of tliem asked 
by a sign if that was his wife. He, being fall of fun, 
shook his head, and placing two lingers in his mouth, 
made the Indian sign for '' sister." The squaw care- 
fully scrutinized the wife's face, she trying not to flinch 
while the brown Angers passed over the skin ; when 

index, to the position in tlie heavens where the moon is supposed 
to be. 

Some Indians, in making the circle which represents the moon, 
use tlie index fingers and thumbs of both hands. 

I have seen a half-month represented by forming a crescent with 
thumb and index ; and usually the moon is represented as full, 
gibbous, half, and crescent, by indicating such and such a portion 
as dead or wiped out. 

2. Night. Conception : Earth covered over. — Bring extended 
hands, backs up, well out in front of body, fingers pointing to front, 
right hand very little higher than left, hands about height of breast 
and several inches apart; move the right hand to left, left to right, 
turning hands slightly by wrist action so that fingers of right hand 
point to left and front, left hand to right and front, terminating 
movement when wrists are crossed. Darkness, as I have said, 
seems to be considered a material thing by Indians ; it spreads 
over the earth like two huge blankets. I have also seen sign made 
to denote sun setting for night. 



COERAL OF THE CAPTIVES. 105 

the examination was finished, the sqiiaw made a sign 
that she knew the statement was not true, and, as she 
shook her head decisively, a gleam came into her eyes 
as if of triumph in her keenness of perception. 

The buttons of the lady's habit, her whip, with a 
dog's head on the handle (at sight of which the squaw 
bow-wowed), and finally the visitor's curls were closely 
examined, and great curiosity and surprise were evinced 
when the hair was pulled straight and the curl resumed 
its form on being released. 

After many visits to the corral, which really added 
greatly to the interest of our life, we came to feel at 
home with these dusky strangers ; and even the woman 
who at first would only stand by the sentinel and look 
down, because, as she said, she chose to die some other 
death than that by disembowelling, summoned courage 
to enter the tents and look at the ever-interesting, ever- 
new object to a woman, the pappoose. I at last forgot 
the knife that at first, in my excited state, I had almost 
seen gleaming in the folds of the blanket, and we even 
stood quietly while the bent and odious old squaws 
crooned and smoothed our faces. The uniform kind- 
ness with which these prisoners had been treated had 
convinced them that the white man meant to keep his 
word. In the councils that were constantly held, Gen- 
eral Custer gave them the news of the negotiations 
that were going on regarding the delivering up of white 
captives to our people, and they knew that each event 
of that kind hastened tlieir release. 

One day an orderly from the post rode hurriedly up 



106 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

to oiir tent in camp, and dismounting, gave the compli- 
ments of the commanding officer of the garrison, and 
asked that General Custer should come to the post at 
once, as the Indian prisoners had made trouble, and no 
one could understand their desires further than that 
they kept calling for " Ouchess," meaning " Creeping 
Panther," a name they had given General Custer some 
time before. The two miles were soon accomplished, 
and General Custer found a sorry state of affairs and 
intense excitement prevailing. The officers in charge 
explained that as constant rumors were circulated of 
parties of hostile Indians hovering around the post and 
the corral, with the intention of rescuing the captives, 
and as it was feared that the three chiefs were preparing 
to attempt an escape, it had been thought best to re- 
move the latter from their tent to the guard-house ad- 
joining. The sergeant and guard had gone to them, 
but being unable to make any signs that the Indians 
could understand, they had attempted to force them to 
go into the prison. With the suspiciousness natural to 
the race, the braves had resisted with all their strength. 
All the women and children, witnessing the encounter, 
surrounded the officer, who had joined the soldiers as 
soon as trouble seemed imminent, and while he and the 
sergeant and men were trying to make their exit with 
the three chiefs, a general fight had taken place. The 
chiefs quickly drew from the folds of their blankets 
the knives they had been allowed to eat with. These 
had been surreptitiously sharpened and polished, and 
they flashed right and left as the braves plunged to and 



CORRAL OF THE CAPTIVES. 107 

fro in their struggles. The squaws, similarly armed, 
threw themselves with wild fury upon the guard. An 
old squaw singled out the officer in charge, sprang upon 
him, and plunged her knife down the back of his neck 
with unerring aim. One of the chiefs leaped upon the 
sergeant and stabbed and gashed him in so horrible a 
manner that his life was despaired of. The remainder 
of the guard came to the rescue, but not before one 
chief, Big Head, had fallen dead, and another, Dull 
Knife, was mortally wounded by a bayonet thrust 
through the body. The third, Fat Bear, was felled by 
the butt of a musket, but was uninjured. The outside 
guard, by firing in, had quelled the mutiny among the 
women. When General Custer reached the corral the 
excitement was still intense, but he insisted upon en- 
tering the stockade alone, and talking with the prison- 
ers. The women were running about, making frantic 
gestures, angrily and revengefully menacing the guard 
and the sentinel on his beat. As soon as General Cus- 
ter appeared they closed around him, asking vehement- 
ly if they were all to be shot. He quieted them by 
his decision of manner, and his assurances that they 
w^ere now safe, and asked what was the meaning of 
their violent conduct. They told him that they had 
asked again and again to have him as interpreter, for 
when the soldiers had come in to take the chiefs, they 
could neither understand nor be understood. They 
had supposed tliat the braves were being forced out to 
be hanged, and the special dread of an Indian is to die 
such a death. General Custer had learned to treat the 



108 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

Indians with the patience that children require, and 
he told tliem, in endeavoring to conciliate and quiet 
the still agitated women, what the real intention of the 
guard was, how friendly the men had constantly been 
up to that time, and that their brusque conduct when 
resisted was not to be marvelled at, for that soldiers 
were drilled to quick, peremptory ways. The men had 
no intention, he assured them, of injuring any one ; 
they only wanted to remove the three chiefs to the in- 
side of the guard-house, and they could not talk with 
them, not having been out on the campaign the winter 
before. 

This talk had at once a perceptible effect. Some of 
the older women crouched down to croon and moan 
over the dead, as is their custom ; others walked about 
wailing and gesticulating in the expressive manner of 
the Indian. Many of them had gashed their legs hor- 
ribly, in commemoration of the dead, and their leg- 
gings constantly irritated the wounds. One old squaw 
had been shot in the leg in the melee, and another ex- 
hibited her blanket with bullet-holes in it ; but there 
was not much pity felt among the soldiers, whose lives 
had been imperilled, for these old viragos, who had 
fought so furiously. 

General Custer went into the cell where the dying 
chief lay, and explained in the same manner the cause 
of the misunderstanding and disaster. The old warrior 
told the general how much they had wished, through 
all the imprisonment, that they had been confined with- 
in the limits of the cavalry camp, among the soldiers 



CORRAL OF THE CAPTIVES. 109 

who had captured them, and who, during the past win- 
ter, had learned to talk with them by signs ; he com- 
plained that the " Walk-a-heaps," as they called the 
infantry, who now had them in keeping, did not under- 
stand them at all. 

After this unfortunate affair there was no more vis- 
iting the stockade on the part of the women. The very 
hands that had smoothed our faces and stroked our 
hair had too skilfully wielded the knives that we had all 
the time suspected them of carrying under their gar- 
ments. They were now more dissatisfied, suspicious, 
and restless than ever, and when at last the news came 
that the white captives were released, and that they, 
in turn, would be sent back to their tribe, there was 
general rejoicing. 

General Custer would not let me miss the departure, 
which he went up to arrange. The wagons that were to 
convey the Indians on their way to their village were 
drawn up in front of the corral when we arrived, and 
the company of cavalry which was to accomj)any them 
as escort stood at their horses' heads, awaiting the 
trumpet-call " Boots and saddles !" It seemed incred- 
ible that people who had come to us with nothing 
should depart with so much luggage. "All kinds of 
truck," to use the phrase with which the Western 
man designates a variety of possessions, was heaped in 
the big army-wagon by the willing soldiers, and the 
women and children mounted upon their property. 
Every one had given them a present — and nothing 
seemed to come amiss to them — though the donor 



110 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

might be puzzled to imagine liow they would ever use 
the gift. 

Finally, Nav-a-rouc-ta walked out of the gate, her 
pappoose on her back, smiling and shy, and showing 
some regret at departure, for she had thriven in the 
idle life. The soldiers and by-standers called, " Good- 
bye, Sallie Ann," and she turned from the right to 
the left to receive the homage her sweet face elicited. 
Behind her, bent almost to the ground with a weight 
which we could scarcely believe concealed a human 
being, crept the old grandmother, carrying Mo-nah- 
se-tah's accumulated wealth. "Sallie Ann" came over 
to where we waited to say a special good-bye to us, 
and as she raised her liquid eyes coyly to smile and 
bid adieu, I could not realize that those same orbs 
could flash in anger, and the hand we took grow rigid 
in the madness of revenge ; but her maimed husband, 
now limping through life, was a witness of her capacity 
for rage. 

The old chief walked forth, too dignified to show 
joy at his release, but no amount of impressiveness of 
manner could subdue the soldiers and ourselves. Cries 
pealed out on all sides, " Halloa, Cardigan !" He had 
been relieved of his own title, Fat Beai*, long before, 
and named for the Cardigan jacket that had been 
given to him, and that he evidently had never re- 
moved from the day of its presentation to the morn- 
ing of his departure. An underling squaw carried his 
enormous pack as he stalked towards the wagon, she 
struggling on in the rear. 



CORRAL OF THE CAPTIVES. Ill 

The prisoners, forgetting for once their stoicism, 
huighed and chattered their unintelligible gibberish, 
poking their heads out of the semicircle that the wag- 
on-covers made at the rear, and went off with many 
a hearty cheer from their captors. The sentinel, re- 
lieved at the completion of the unusual duty, descend- 
ed from his elevated beat to allow the stockade to bo 
demolished, and with it departed all trace of the Ind- 
ian captives, save the circles made by their tents in the 
soil. 



mm 




^-0-r^ 



— #-#-#-h-i— [-p-iiiJ — h-H-f-^^—^^— F — ,^-j — H 



fegE-feiiiii^i 



CHAPTER IX. 



PETS OF THE CAMP. 



My first visit to our brother Tom's tent, after we 
made camp on Big Creek, will not become a dim mem- 
ory during my life, I think, for I was so thoroughly 
frightened I shivered for days afterwards when recall- 
ing it. Of course, after all our arrangements for the 
summer were made, we very naturally wanted to ex- 
hibit our triumph over circumstances, our ingenuity 
at inventing conveniences, and to elicit praise from 
each other for doing so much with so little. Tom was 
not so proud of his tent as of his captures. At that 
time we all had many valuable Indian trophies — even 
Indian shields made of the toughest part of the buffalo- 
hide, and painted with warlike scenes ; necklaces of 
the fore-claws of the bear ; war-bonnets, with the eagle 
feathers so fastened that they stood out at right angles 
when worn, and extended from the head to the heels ; 
and, alas for my peace of mind, there seemed to be 
scalp -locks everywhere! We had a warrior's jacket 
trimmed with them as fringe, with soft yellow cliild's 
hair among the rest. This was presented by an Ind- 



PETS OF THE CAMP. 



113 



ian, wliile some of the officers were offered other tro- 
phies in trade. 

There was a captured scalp -lock, stretched over a 
small hoop made of a willow withe to keep it from 
shrinking, and this was hung to the belt in an Indian 
dance, or to the te- 
pee walls wdiile they 
were not in full 
dress. Our brother 
Tom always had an 
ample collection of 
these Indian memen- 
tos, and it made his 
tent or quarters in 
garrison very uncan- 




ny, m my estima- 
tion. But if the 
war - bonnet, shield, 
or bear- claw neck- 
lace could be bought 
or traded for, or cap- 
tured in an Indian 
fight, it was like pos- 
sessing one's self of 
the family diamonds a scalp-lock. 

of an Indian, as these 

three heirlooms were handed down as we white peo- 
ple bequeath jewels, plate, or pictures. 

Colonel Tom's next most valuable possession was a 
box of rattlesnakes. He was an expert in catching 
8 



114: FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

tliem. Being very agile and extremely quick, he never 
failed to bag his game. When he discovered a snake 
with seven or more rattles he leaped from his horse, 
called his orderly to take off his coat and tie up the 
end of the sleeve and hold it for the prisoner. Then, 
with a well-aimed and violent stroke with the butt of 
the carbine he pinioned the reptile near the head, and 
holding it down with one hand, seized it by the back 
of the neck, lifted it from the ground, dropped it into 
the sleeve, tied it again, and swinging into the saddle, 
joined the column as unconcerned as if the seven rat- 
tles were not threatening vengeance behind him. On 
my first meeting with him after a campaign he usually 
said, " Well, old lady, I have some beauties to show 
you this time, captured them on purpose for you," 
and I knew that my hour had come. I never passed 
for a fearless woman, and I did not hesitate to beg off, 
telling him I " appreciated the honor," but would see 
the reptiles " some other day," and resorting to any 
subterfuge to escape this form of hospitality. But I 
might as well have argued with the snakes themselves 
for all the good I accomplished. He came after me, 
and we started ; in vain I dawdled by the way to delay 
the moment that was simply horrible to me ; his cheer- 
ful "Here we are !" seemed to sound so soon. The in- 
secure cages were 23atclied-up hardtack boxes, and the 
snakes had to bo lifted out to exhibit them. 

Tom's bull-dog was always a terror to me, but in 
this new fright his ominous growls were forgotten. 1 
only begged before the performance began to take up 



PETS OF THE CAMP. 115 

my place on the bed — and oh, how I bemoaned the low- 
ness of it ! The agonizing thought was forced upon 
me that at that very moment a snake might be lurk- 
ing under the low camp-cot, or, worse still, wriggling 
Tinder the blankets on which my trembling toes then 
rested. Then, with skirts gathered about me for a 
sudden flight, with protruding eyeballs, I shook and 
gasped as the box -lids were removed, and the great 
loathsome objects stretched up to show their length, 
a chance being given to each one to shake his rattles 
in rage. 

Words of regret from Tom awoke no answering 
emotion in me when he found himself minus one 
snake. What was a source of regret to him was an 
occasion of horror to me ; there was not a vestige of 
the snake remaining ; it had not escaped ; it was a vic- 
tim of reptile cannibalism, for the larger of the two 
had eaten his smaller comrade, and not even a rattle 
was left ! 

After this entertainment was over, and I was going 
home, almost frisking with joy, over the plains that 
separated us from the soldiers' and officers' tents, I 
tried to argue with Tom that he sliould keep all of his 
snakes together instead of in separate boxes ; and I con- 
tended that this was nothing more than a measure of 
justice to them, as they must miss the sort of compan- 
ionship, a craving for which is said to exist through- 
out the animal kingdom ; but he discovered my mo- 
tive, and replied, " If you think, old lady, that after 
all the trouble I have been to, to catch these snakes to 



116 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

show you, I am going to make it easy for them to eat 
each other up, you are mightily mistaken." Some 
English tourists were so interested in Tom's daring 
mode of capture, and the snakes themselves were so 
novel a sight to them, that they persuaded him to send 
some specimens to the "Zoo" in London; and last 
summer I saw one of those who were our guests at 
that time (Dr. Town send), and he told me that the 
snakes were still there. Tom's orderly might appear 
in this affair as an object of pity, but he was as much 
interested and as enthusiastic in the sport as his officer, 
and posed before the soldiers as a snake -catcher — a 
position not without lionor among many daring men, 
who were willing to meet any sound of war except the 
threatening rattle of such a foe. 

When we were encamped on Big Creek, buffaloes 
were all about us ; the Kansas Pacific Railroad had been 
completed only to Fort Hays, and the herds were still 
roaming in immense numbers along the line. They 
frequently crossed the track in front of a train, but 
they were so intent upon getting away that the sharp- 
est, most continued shrieks of the whistle did not turn 
them from their course ; the leaders in a move are very 
faithfully followed by the herd as a rule. The en- 
gineer was often obliged to whistle down the brakes 
to avoid accident. 

I remember standing among a group of officers at 
one time, resting after a charge into a herd. We were 
on a divide, where the horizon was visible in every di- 
rection. One of the group said to me, " Turn about, 



PETS OF THE CAMP. 117 

Mrs. Custer, and notice that you are surrounded with 
buffaloes." It was as if tho horizon was outlined with 
a dark rim. The officer continued, " You are looking 
now upon a hundred thousand buffaloes." I was rather 
incredulous of their stories when they were told to me, 
as I had been so often ^' guyed." I said: "Are you 
really in earnest? And can I tell this to the people 
in the East when I go home ?" " Honor bright," he 
said ; " I do not exaggerate." 

I have been on a train when the black, moving mass 
of buffaloes before us looked as if it stretched on down 
to the horizon. Every one went armed in those days, 
and the car windows and platforms bristled with rifles 
and pistols, much as if it had been a fortification de- 
fended by small-arms instead of cannon. 

It was the greatest wonder that more people were 
not killed, as the wild rush for the windows, and the 
reckless discharge of rifles and pistols, put every pas- 
senger's life in jeopardy. N^o one interfered or made 
a protest with those travellers, however. They were 
the class of men who carry the chip balanced very 
lightly on the shoulder, and rather seek than avoid its 
jostling. I could not for the life of me avoid a shud- 
der when a long line of guns leaning on the backs of 
the seats met my eye as I entered a car. When the 
sharp shriek of the whistle announced a herd of buffa- 
loes the rifles were snatched, and in the struggle to 
twist round for a good aim out of the narrow window 
the barrel or muzzle of the fire-arm passed dangerous- 
ly near the ear of any scared woman who had the te- 



118 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

merity to travel in those tempestuous days. Men are 
pretty patient with women's tremors if they try to 
keep them in control, and don't carry their shrieks too 
far; but when the delay was long enough to empty 
the car I felt intensely relieved. Sometimes the whole 
train was abandoned for a time, engineer and all going 
out for sport. There was no railroad competition then, 
and only one train a day was run — therefore, there 
was no attempt to keep a correct schedule. We rarely 
used the raih'oad, even if it was near, when once out 
in camp. Our own mode of travel seemed preferable. 
In going on hunts the officers were not obliged to 
ride far before coming upon herds of grazing buffaloes, 
and sometimes the animals even came in sight of camp. 
Once, I remember, we were entertaining a distinguished 
Eastern journalist. He wanted to return with the rec- 
ord of a Nimrod, but he was too much exhausted from 
overwork to attempt riding, and he said, with regret, 
that he feared he would be obliged to go back without 
seeing a buffalo, and be unmercifully teased by his 
friends in the States into the bargain. Still he could 
not endure to lose for an hour the heaven of calm that 
his tired head enjoyed under the shade of our tarpau- 
lin, where we begged him to lounge all day. Of course 
his enforced quiet was a boon to us. We plied him 
wuth questions as to Eastern progress, for, reading of 
new inventions put into use since we had come West, 
we could not quite understand from the newspaper ac- 
counts their practical application. I well remember 
how glad I was out there, wdien the first Elevated Road 



PETS OF THE CAMP. 119 

was built in 'New York, to have it carefully explained 
to me ; for the papers, after all, take it for granted 
that every one lives in the heart of civilization. As 
our guest lounged under the shade one day we heard 
a shout near, the dogs rushed barking to the stream, 
the men ran at breakneck speed in the same direction, 
and one of our own people called back, " Buffaloes !" 
Here was a chance, for, when this Mohammed could 
not go to the mountain, it bore down on him. The 
stream was then low, so that with help we could go 
over on logs and stepping-stones ; and, standing on the 
other bank, we saw a splendid chase. The officers, al- 
ways ready to do what they could to entertain stran- 
gers, had driven the herd as near our tent as possible, 
and the buffalo singled out to be killed was shot so 
near us that we all saw it. 

The air of Kansas was so pure that we had no diffi- 
culty in keeping meat ; but our trial was the rapacity 
of the dogs. They always seemed to be caverns, and at 
no hour could we eat without being surrounded by a 
collection of canines of all ages, which turned up their 
large appealing eyes to us, contesting in this pathetic 
manner every mouthful we took. In order to save the 
buffalo-meat from their tremendous leaps, as they were 
great thieves, it had to be strung far up in a tree, and 
let down by ropes when the meat for dinner was to be 
cut off. By violent " shooing," scolding, and throwing 
of sticks at the waiting dogs, Eliza cut what was need- 
ed, and swung the rest back to its safe height. We 
had then a pet wolf, or rather one that we would have 



120 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

liked to pet ; but the wolf is not an easy animal to 
tame. One of the soldiers, who was so devoted to 
General Custer that he would have lain down with a 
lion for his sake, kept the animal in his tent, and the 
chain allowed it to walk up and down, but, to my great 
relief, did not admit of a prowl of any considerable 
length. 

The whole camp seemed like an animated " zoo," and 
each soldier or officer Avho owned a prized treasure 
boasted that his was superior to all others. There were 
besides wolves, prairie-dogs, raccoons, porcupines, wild- 
cats, badgers, young antelopes, buffalo-calves, and any 
number of mongrel dogs. Our wolf Dixie, being near 
the creek, could send his lonely cries at night over the 
still prairie on the farther side ; and these appealing 
howls were often answered by other wolves, which we 
frequently saw in the moonlight, skulking along the 
bank on the opposite side. 

By this time Eliza had been provided with a few 
chickens, which were the pride of her life ; and it would 
be hard to give the reader a conception of how strange 
their domestic cackle seemed in that wilderness. Eliza's 
antipathy to the wolf was made a permanent memory, 
because her nmch-loved poultry suffered from his pres- 
ence. Here is a report of one of her reminiscences 
touching the wolf and the other animals of the camp : 
" You know. Miss Libbie, our wolf Dixie. Well, I 
had to gain the good-will of him before I got up to 
him, or he would bite me sure if I didn't. He did 
bite me once, and I learned something from that. One 




VN^i^ 



WARRIOR IN WAR-BONXET. 



^i 



TETS OF THE CAMP. 121 

day I heered my cliickies a-sqiialling and a-cackling at 
a great rate, and all of 'em up a tree. I cast my eyes 
at Dixie's house and Lo was gone ! Miss Libbie, ho 
had broken his chain, climbed up on some logs and 
into that tree, and was a-laying out on a limb as nice 
as ever you see anything in your life, watching chick- 
ens, and trying to get his chance to leap and catch one. 
I took hold of his chain and yanked him down, and 
Dixie was ' mad with me for two.' He used to chaw 
up the table-cloths and gnaw the sheets if we left 'em 
anywhere near him, and he was a terror, and I never 
could see why the ginnel would keep him. But, Miss 
Libbie, he wa'n't a showin' to that 'coon we had for 
long-headed mischief. He'd drag everything he could 
to the tin wash-basin, and fumble everything in the 
water, and all I could do the ginnel would just lie there 
and laugh at him. One day he got the ginnel's money 
out of his pocket-book, and rolled it into little wads. I 
ketched him, and I says, ' Ginnel, if you don't kill him 
Iwill^^ but, lor'. Miss Libbie, one of them pets was as 
precious as if it had been a gold-mine. Do you mind 
that time the 'coon nearly got killed, the time we just 
had an old colored man as waiter come to us? The 
'coon got loose and mounted up on the tent, and the 
old man hadn't no -notion it was a pet, and he licked 
and cut around there, and was a-pounding the 'coon, 
when the ginnel came out. Lord sakes. Miss Libbie ! 
the old man cut and run the first word the ginnel said. 
He just hollered to him like as though he was going to 
leap through him, just to scare him, for fun, you know. 



122 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

The old man just sprung to liis feet like lie was a 
young sparrow, and run back to him, for he liked him. 
Ginnel says, ' What are you doing V ' Killing a 'coon, 
sail,' says the old man, and then he found out that all 
'coons didn't belong to the colored folks. ' Well,' he 
says, ' if you haven't got anything to do but kill my 
'coon, come in and wash my collars,' and then the old 
man primped up his mouth and went at it. Miss Lib- 
bie, I watched his face, and as they cum to pieces he 
prepared to cut again, for he had never seed paper col- 
lars. Some one had given the ginnel a box, thinkin' 
they would come handy on the march ; but when they 
cum to pieces he just roared and shouted, and the old 
man found out, after all, that 'twasn't his fault that the 
collars didn't stay together." 

Our tents were usually a menagerie of pets : the sol- 
diers, knowing General Custer's love for them, brought 
him everything that they could capture. The wolf was 
the only one of the collection to which I objected. I 
was afraid of him, and, besides, he kept ns, with his 
nightly howls, surrounded by his fellow -vagrants of 
the plains. Our own tent opened on the little plat- 
form at the rear, and, giving as it did a draught 
through to the front, made us comfortable during the 
warmest night. The dogs, of course, ran in and out at 
will ; no one ever thought of repressing them. The 
best we had was not considered good enough for them. 
We knew them to be faithful and affectionate, and we 
kept them about us almost constantly. We knew their 
step, even, and could distinguish ours from the others 



PETS OF THE CAMP. 123 

in the camp. One niglit I was awakened by the pecul- 
iar tread of some animal, and woke General Custer. 
He said it was a large dun-colored dog from camp that 
was roaming coolly from the fly to the platform ; but to 
make quite sure he rose to investigate, and came back 
to take his pistol. This alarmed me, but he soon re- 
turned and said there was nothing more to be seen of 
the intruder, and I went to sleep. J^ext morning I 
was told that our uninvited guest was a large wolf; 
but, thinking that if I knew it, it would effectually 
end sleep, General Custer had reserved the informa- 
tion till day. 

Harrison, the soldier who so adored liis general that 
he gladly kept the wolf near him, was a little discour- 
aged one morning, and we learned through Eliza, who 
was rewarding him with hot biscuit for perils passed, 
that, awaking in the moonlight, he had found a wolf's 
head just inside of his tent, and he "reckoned if he 
kept Dixie much longer the hull tarnal lot of varmints 
would think they'd got to visit him." 

It was the only time I knew myself to be in such 
proximity to wolves ; but the calls of the pet animal, 
added to the temptation offered by the odor of the 
fresh meat hanging in the tree, made it more than pos- 
sible that these ugly brutes wandered around our tents 
night after night. Our dogs were often oS on a pred- 
atory excursion of their own, and thus left the way 
open for the strangers. 

A camp is a very still place at night. Military rule 
is so rigid that a soldier is not permitted to leave his 



12i FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

tent after taps without special permission. Of course 
there is always a daring set of men who do go to the 
nearest town ; but they learn to skulk in shadows, and 
creep off so silently that the sentinel on his beat, no 
matter how vigilant, can be easily evaded. In one of 
the tents within call — that is to say, a loud call — of 
ours, we had a dear friend who was very plucky. She 
could fire a revolver, and as the officers added, "hit 
something, too," which was so significantly said that 
the dullest of us drew the conclusion that they thought 
it an impossibility for the rest of us ever to have an 
accurate aim. These tents, like ours, were near the 
stream, and domestic life went on there as happily as if 
the tent had been a palace. These friends were affec- 
tionately called the " Smithies"; that is, the husband was 
called " Fresh " 'Smith, to distinguish him from the sea 
captain in our regiment, who was " Salt " Smith, and 
the wife was Mrs. Smithy. Sometimes the head of the 
house answered if called " Pilgrim," which appellation, 
traced out, was found to have reference to the gray 
clothes he wore when he reported for duty, and also 
to be connected with some discordant notes he insisted 
upon singing, which, after much trouble, his jocular 
companions discovered to be an attempt at the hymn, 
" I'm a pilgrim and I'm a stranger." He was either 
musically unequal to the task, or he never was allowed 
to finish the "Do not detain me." It was an altogether 
unnecessary request, for no one thought of detaining 
him if he attempted to sing. 

When he reported for duty in camp, before Mrs. 



PETS OF THE CAMP. 125 

Smith joined liiin, he was met by our brother Tom, 
who was cordial and hospitable, as was liis wont, urg- 
ing the new-comer to go to his tent until his own was 
pitched, and help himself to anything that was needed. 
Tom, being on duty, could do no more than point out 
tlie way. Captain Smith was a brave soldier, as his 
disabled shoulder proved. After the war he had re- 
ceived an appointment in the regular anny as reward 
for his services, and this was his lirst appearance on the 
plains. 

The captain did not feel wholly at ease as he ap- 
proached Colonel Tom's tent. A wolf was chained at 
the entrance, growling and walking his restless beat, as 
is the custom of that animal. He knew that it \vas re- 
garded as a pet, but a wolf is a wolf, and do what you 
will, the familiar prowling gait of the jackal or panther 
is kept night and day, and the vicious eye roams from 
side to side in search of game upon which the beast 
can make his co\vardly spring. Thinking of " Pilgrim's 
Progress," and the approach to the castle, the young 
stranger accomplished the entrance successfully, ex- 
pecting momentarily that the wolf would set his teeth 
in his unprotected calves, only to be met with threat- 
ening grow^ls from under the bed. The red eyes of 
Brandy, the greatest fighting dog of the regiment, 
glared at him, and a whole -set of molars ^vas lavishly 
exhibited. While the stranger stood irresolute in the 
centre of the small tent, the snakes in the boxes set up a 
rattling that was not to be mistaken for anything else. 
When Tom came hurrying in from drill, some time 



126 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

after, his guest was prepared for a roar of merriment 
at what he supposed was intended as a joke ; but, on 
the contrary, Tom having been accustomed to strange 
room-mates, it had really not occurred to him that 
there is always a first time for every one, and so 
" Smithy " had passed alone through a part of his ini- 
tiation. 

Smithy was compelled to wait a short time for his 
own tent, and Tom entertained him with an exhibition 
of his snakes, and stories of the prowess of his dog. In 
one of the contests illustrating Brandy's tenacity of 
grip our bull-dog — Turk — had figured. So savage had 
the dogs become that no ordinary means could separate 
them. At last an officer knelt down and bit one of 
Brandy's toes with all his might, but he did not relax 
his grip in the least ; then Colonel Tom seized a car- 
bine, thrust it into the dog's collar, twisted it till Bran- 
dy gurgled and choked, and was compelled to drop 
" the under dog in the fight." After that, if Tom was 
separated from us, he would write, " Brandy sends his 
love to Turk, ' his dearest foe ;' " and when he came back 
it became the study of every one to see that these im- 
placable enemies should not meet. When Brandy's 
record had been aired to Captain Smith, the history of 
the snakes was narrated, and the wolf also had special 
attention ; but the pitching of his tent gave the new 
officer an opportunity to regain the equilibrium that 
had been so disturbed on his entrance into the new 
life. 

The Smiths themselves soon gathered a little coUec- 



PETS OF THE CAMP. 127 

tioii of pets about tliera, and even a stupid little prairie- 
dog was partially tamed by their care. They had in 
time a buffalo-calf, which soon grew to be as much at 
home as if it had been a descendant of domesticated 
animals. Sometimes the soldier who cooked for them 
thought the calf altogether too familiar when he came 
galloping down to the cook-tent, knocking the camp- 
kettles about, butting at everything (the cook included) 
in the desire to exhibit a pair of growing horns. 

The calf knew and was accustomed to officers and 
their uniforms, but one day one of them appeared in a 
spotless suit of white duck. It was warm, and the cool 
clothes were very aggravating to those who had none 
and were clad in woollen. The guest stroked the calf, 
petted and pla^^ed with the apparently innocent animal, 
not noticing that the bushy little head dropped lower 
and lower. The spectators knew this ominous sign, but 
said nothing, trying even to hide the gleam in their 
eyes. In a flash the owner of the hated white duck 
was picking himself up from a neighboring mud-pud- 
dle, while the apparently innocent calf went on graz- 
ing as if he had not so much as thought of experiment- 
ing with his embryo horns. 

There were animals that w^ere not sought as pets, 
and naturally the " prairie dandy " was one. We were 
made aware that these animals w^ere around us, for the 
dogs, in their zeal for game, made no distinction. After 
a successful chase of the polecat by themselves, they 
came bounding back to us in a most triumphant man- 
ner, sure of a welcome, and prepared to get on the bed, 



128 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

under it, in the camp-cliairs, on my lap, anywhere they 
could be sure was the best and easiest place. Their 
look was full of surprise and reproach when all their 
friends started hurriedly to their feet, seized sticks, 
cliairs, anything to hurl at them, shouting wildly, " Get 
out ! get out, you brutes !" while onlj^ that morning we 
had exhausted the vocabulary and coined words to tell 
them what darlings they were. Of course, followed by 
every available missile, they beat a retreat, but not for 
any great distance. Perfectly unconscious why they 
were not as acceptable at night as in the morning, 
they sat in a grieving semicircle some distance out in 
front of the tent, and reproved us by pitiful inquiring 
whines, by short interrogatory barks, by wagging tails 
and sinuous bodies, trying by their expressive motions 
to argue us out of our hard-heartedness. 

There was another enemy that we did not cultivate 
livins: alonsc the stream. We had a little cellar that 
the soldiers liad dug in the side bank, making a roof 
of logs, and covering all with earth ; a rude door was 
cobbled out of drift-wood planks — for if you wait long 
enough on a Kansas stream you can almost count on 
any houses, fences, or household utensils you need being 
washed down to you, if there are any settlements above, 
so violent are the freshets. This cellar, being the first 
we had ever had, was a great possession to us, and we 
proceeded to get supplies from the commissary in some 
quantities, instead of, as usual, sending daily for enough 
to last twenty-four hours. The cellar was pronounced 
a grand success until it began to empty with such ra- 



PETS OF THE CAMP. 129 

pidity that we mildly asked Eliza if we had not better 
order the whole Commissary Department down at once. 
We even lost some supplies for w^hicli we had been ex- 
travagant enough to send to St. Louis. 

Eliza says : " I used to hear a crawling near my tent. 
There was an old fallen tree near, and the creeping 
and crawling and sneaking 'peared to be right there. 
I thought it was a snake. I just kept missing my things 
out of the cellar right along. I was afraid to report 
it, 'cause I was afraid it was somebody stealing. Final- 
ly I told the ginnel my potatoes was agoing so fast I 
didn't know what was the cause of it. You know, 
Miss Libbie, he was always a-teasing me, 'cause, he said, 
I fed so many ; so he says : ' I know the cause of it. Just 
as like as not there's an orphan asylum started again 
near my tent.' Next morning I had everything ready 
to cook breakfast, and w^as running up the hill to wake 
you and the ginnel. As I was a-passing that old hollow 
tree I saw the biggest rat I ever did see, a-looking at 
me as sassy as ever you saw anything. Well, I didn't 
think it was a rat. I ran on to the tent and said, ' Gin- 
nel, get right up and see the biggest rat you ever did 
see.' He says, ' Eat ! where ? who ever heard tell of rats 
in the timber V But he jumped up and dressed, and 
come down. Oh, my sakes, Miss Libbie ! thar the rat 
lay, with his paws sticking out, ready to run out of the 
tree again. Well, he had carried out a load that night, 
but he had lugged out a loaf of bread, and got stuck 
on that, for he couldn't tug it into his den. The offi- 
cers all come up, and every one had a shoot at it, but 
9 



130 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

the rat ran in, and they had to split open the tree be- 
fore they could get at him. Everything* got together 
to have a look at him after he was killed, for he was a 
foot and a half long. He had in that old tree two 
buckets of potatoes, two candles, and a box of matches 
(the ginnel said he was fixing to get supper), a package 
of chocolate, beans, and lots of other things, as he was 
laying by stores for winter." 

It was not pleasant to feel that we had such loath- 
some neighbors, but after I saw the rat I never felt 
sure that one like it would not dart through the tent, 
and every strange sound was attributed to them. But 
no such daring trespasser was found again on our door- 
step almost — that is to say, what would have been a 
door-step if we had possessed a door. 



* Eliza's expression " everything " meant everything human in 
camp — officers, soldiers, quartermasters, quartermaster's employes, 
and servants. 



stable Call. 



1^^ 



^-^^ 



:n-^- 



1CW=^W=W 



t^=LJ d v^- 



n 



Come off to the sta - ble All ye who are a - ble, And 
^— #f— ^ = ^ 




:t=f=t^ 



_IIIjiz3=^ 



give your hors - es some oats and some com; 



:i=_#_«_«_^ 



For 



^z^-^-t=^. 



if you don't do it Your col 



onel ■will know it, 




And then you will rue it 



you're born. 



CHAPTER X. 



A SLOW MULE-RACE. 

The dislike I always had for liorse-racing was some- 
what abated when I learned, after my marriage, how 
different an affair it is when conducted by gentlemen. 
There were none of the usual obnoxious features of a 
course. The officers rode their own horses ; there was 
no pool-selling ; all the sport was within the Govern- 
ment reservation, or near camp, where no rough char- 
acters were admitted. We women were always expect- 
ed to be present, and the rest of the spectators were the 
soldiers, who rejoiced in an opportunity to vary their 
dull lives, and though deprived of the privilege of 
backing their captains or lieutenants with money, they 



132 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

made up with boasts and applause. The officers, kept 
down to a light weight by their active life, and learn- 
ing to a nicety how to sit on their horses so as to favor 
them as to weight, often got as much out of them as a 
jockey could have done. We women felt that we would 
gladly sacrifice the few seconds of time that a lighter 
weight might make, to be permitted to look upon the 
easy grace and fine physique of a gentleman as rider 
instead of the wizened little monkey that the profes- 
sional jockey seems when mounted. 

The Seventh Cavalry spent several winters at Fort 
Leavenworth, where there were comfortable quarters, 
and the city, a few miles distant, offered a great variety 
of privileges to men who were most of the year in the 
field. There was a track on the reservation, where our 
horses were timed, and many happy hours were spent 
glorying in the speed, the beauty, the endurance of the 
animals we owned. The track was on the side farthest 
from the town, and perfectly retired. There was a 
little stand for the group of ladies who accompanied 
their husbands or their lovers, for there was much 
sweethearting at that delightful post, and the joyous 
cavalcade riding over the pretty road to the track made 
litiusic with their voices and happy laughter. 
/ We had at one time sixteen horses ridden by their 
owners at a hurdle-race, which was arranged only for 
ourselves. The prizes were gold spurs and a silver- 
mounted riding -whip. If our officers were not all 
handsome, one was deceived into thinking they were, 
for the brilliant eyes, the glow of health, the proud 



A SLOW MULE-RACE. 133 

carriage of the head, which is a soldier's characteristic, 
and, above all, the symmetry of their well-developed 
figures, gave one the impression that there was little 
to be desired in the general make-up of the men. 
These gentlemen riders were in gay jockey costumes, 
and the bright colors were reflected by knots of rib- 
bon, or the scarfs about the pretty throats of the ad- 
miring womon who looked on. The track was lined 
for some distance with the blue blouses of the excited 
soldiers, who were allowed to come eii masse. It was 
decidedly a home-party, but none the less enthusiastic 
on that account. 

The first hurdle was taken almost simultaneously by 
the sixteen riders, and as they vaulted into air rider 
and horse exhibited alike the greatest joy, and scarce- 
ly seemed to touch the earth before they shot ofi for 
another hurdle. All that wretched feeling of anxiety 
one experiences in looking on the set features and 
wild-eyed frenzy of the professional jockey, and on 
the absorbed, strained gaze of the by-standers when 
large sums are at stake on a regular race-course, was 
left out of our races. When money comes in, it is, to 
say the least, a disturbing element, and real sport can 
be had where gain is not in question. The familiar 
phrase which describes horse and rider as one is most 
perfectly justified when officers and soldiers ride thus 
in friendly rivalry. They not only sit the horse as if 
they really were centaurs, but the sympathy that ex- 
ists between the animal and his master, after years of 
daily association, becomes almost human. 



134 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

The officers spoke of the humor their horses were in 
as married people refer to the peculiar state of mind 
the circumstances or the day produces. For instance, 
riding beside us, they said : " I don't find Lulie or 
Peggy " (or whatever the name happened to be), " in 
first-rate humor this morning. I shall leave her to 
herself a while till she gets over her sulks;" or another 
would ask permission to leave the ranks, and the rest, 

looking after him, would say : " There goes to 

fight it out with his stubborn old brute of a Nero;" 
and after a while the subdued horse, carrying his tri- 
umphant master, returned to his place. Some one else, 
perhaps, observed : " My horse is teasing for a run, 
and bother it all, here we are, sandwiched in between 
the old jog-trotters at four miles an hour !" 

Of course, when our men came to put their horses 
to their mettle, as in a race, they knew how to get their 
best out of them. They leaned forward, to throw their 
weight from the back as much as possible, and with 
their faces down almost on their horses' necks, they 
knew pet phrases and encouraging words that were 
secrets between master and beast, having been learned 
on many a lonely ride over the plains ; and hearing 
these murmured in the sensitive ear, the animal in- 
stantly responded by increased effort. 

Our hurdle-race ended suddenly by an accident to 
one of the officers. We resolved to discourage hurdle- 
jumping after that, when we saw the handsome head 
of one of our best riders in the dust. The group gath- 
ering round him, two of the riders returning, the sol- 



A SLOW MULE-EACE. 135 

diers carrying the insensible officer to an ambulance, 
made a sad and anxious spectacle for the little group 
of women, off by themselves, especially for each one 
who feared that the wounded man might prove to be 
her husband ; it proved to be a bachelor officer in- 
stead. The horse, faltering, had rolled over him ; but 
the breaking of an arm and a rib or two were light 
affiictions to him, and he was soon himself, making 
light of his accident, regretting with all his heart that 
he had proved a " spoil sport." The two riders who 
gave up their race to return to their fallen comrade 
lost their oj)portunity to win the prizes, and one of 
them, the best rider in the regiment, had every pros- 
pect of triumph when, with rare self-denial, he aban- 
doned the contest to care for his friend. 

While we were at Fort Leavenworth there was a 
mule-race arranged to be run on our track, and the 
preparations were most elaborate ; hearing the arrange- 
ments so much talked of and studied over, we could 
scarcely wait for the day. A purse of fifty dollars was 
made up for the prizes. In the first 23lace, the women 
were all tranquil in their minds. There would be no 
lofty leaps over dangerous hurdles, for reasons that the 
mule could ofl[er; and as one of the conditions was 
that the slowest animal was to win, even the most 
timid woman need not dread reckless speed. The Gov- 
ernment sent out from Fort Leavenworth, then the 
headquarters of the division, great trains of supplies 
for the far-distant posts ; consequently there were many 
mules always in the quartermaster's corral. And they 



136 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

were not only many in number, but various in charac- 
ter, from the skittish little leaders to the ponderous 
wheelers. The latter were no one knows how old ; 
they were stiff and lumbering, and their tough old 
sides seared and hairless, in long welts, where the har- 
ness had worn into the flesh in many a pull through 
sand or muddy river-bottom, or up the steep banks of 
streams. 

It was over these antiques that the officers lingered. 
They sought out the dullest and the laziest, and were 
assured by the teamsters, when asking about their pow- 
ers of lagging, that if it was laziness they were look- 
ing for, " that 'ere brute could beat the record." Poor, 
down-trodden animals, working all their dull lives in 
heavy harness, never in all their days so much as ask- 
ed to go out of a walk, now suddenly to be launched 
upon the world as racers ! Each officer, after his se- 
lection from the corral, had his mule conveyed to his 
own stable, and there in privacy he practised the art, 
new to all of them, of mounting mule-back. The ani- 
mal, always taught to think that his mission in this 
world was to writhe and struggle through life under 
harness, had to be made acquainted little by little with 
a saddle. It was a long and dangerous instruction. 

The mule General Custer selected never submitted 
to the discipline until the most marvellous harness was 
invented by the would-be rider, which so bound in ev- 
ery muscle, and subdued every kicking heel, that at last 
the saddle could be adjusted. General Custer, always 
brimming .over with fun, had determined to add to the 



A SLOW MULE-KACE. 137 

amusement of the day by selecting the animal that the 
entire quartermaster's department declared to be the 
most obstreperous. His record as a kicker was well 
known. Eliza described the mules that hauled our 
travelling-wagon along a quiet road as " the stupidest, 
stubbornest, most contrary animals ever I did see," and 
here was one that was renowned for being the most 
" coutt'ai'y " of all that were used in the department. 

The harness prepared extended from the tips of the 
mule's ears to the last hairs on the tail. There were 
huge blinders, consisting of a strap over his ears and 
broadening over the face like a mask. The whole 
body was a net-work of straps of leather, which bound 
the rebellious animal from head to foot. Even with 
the mask down, the orderly had to throw his coat over 
the entire head while General Custer leaped with the 
quickness of a cat into the saddle. The officers had 
heard something of the history of this mule from the 
quartermaster's employes, and when the time came for 
each officer to give up his mule and take another — for 
it was the rule that no one should ride his own animal — 
the one to whom the famous kicker fell was somewhat 
doubtful whether he might not be prevented by the 
animal from joining in the race at all. When General 
Custer, incited by the spirit of mischief, which was up- 
permost in a frolic, insisted upon taking his newly in- 
vented harness as well as his saddle to put on the mule 
he had drawn, there was a wild uproar and a general 
protest. 

The thirteen gentlemen did not look like gentlemen, 



138 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

for all, catching the spirit of the occasion, were attired 
in peculiar costumes, each flying a color or colors that 
were as infelicitous as the beasts they had selected. 
One of the young men was an object of ridicule be- 
cause of his bald head. For some strange reason his 
hair had dropped out, and his head looked like a bill- 
iard ball. The fine curly wig, the chef-cVmuvre of the 
town barber, was wisely left at home, as there was a 
not unfounded idea that the kicking would almost dis- 
lodge well-rooted hair, to sa}^ nothing of wigs. The 
courage of this officer in appearing in so ridiculous a 
plight ought to have insured him immunity from the 
laughing taunts of his fellows ; but for fear he should 
be assailed, he prepared his revenge in advance, and had 
his mule carefully covered with a thick coat of white 
paint ; while the discussions preliminary to the race 
went on he rode unconcernedly among the riders, jos- 
tling every one, until he had left so much of the paint 
on his comrades that the mule's hide was quite visible 
again. Spurring their animals to get out of his way 
only put them in more fiendish temper, and the buck- 
ing, backing, and kicking were general. 

It was plain that each mule was determined to pro- 
test against taking the track, and each objected in his 
own particular fashion. From the ladies' stand it looked 
like a conglomeration of hoofs, tails, fluttering ribbons, 
and flying coat-tails, legs vigorously digging spurs into 
ribs, arms swinging, whips waving, and every one talk- 
ing at once, but not drowning the braying of the out- 
raged animals. 



A SLOW MULE-RACE. 139 

A programme was prepared, in which some names 
were inserted that may not be understood, unless it is 
known that hardtack was issued by the commissary. 
" Eaton " was the name of the quartermaster who gave 
out the contracts ; and " Card " was the name of anoth- 
er quartermaster, who had charge of the wagon train, 
muleteers, etc. The programme ran as follows : 

UISriTED STATES i COUESE. 

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. 

JUNE MEETING, 

TUESDAY, JUNE 16th, 1868, 4 P.M. 

MULE-RACE ! 



ONE-MILE DASH SLOW EACE. 



$50 



1. General Custer enters Hyankedank, by Hifalutin, out 
of Snollygoster, second dam Buckjump, by Thunder, out of 
You Bet. Age, threescore years and ten. Colors, ring-ed, 
streak-ed, and strip-ed. 

2. General McKeever enters Hard Tack, by Commissary, 
by Eaton (eatin'), second dam Contractor, by Morgan, out 
of Missouri. Age, forty years. Colors, purple, tipped with 
orange. 

3. Colonel Parsons enters Symmetry (see me try), by 
Considerably, out of Pocket, second dam Polly Tix, by 
Nasby, out of Office. Age, seventeen years. Colors, un- 
commonly blue. 

4. Captain Yates enters William Tell, by Switzerland, by 
Apple Tree, second dam Gessler, by Hapsburg, out of Aus- 
tria. Age, eighteen years. Colors, apple green. 



140 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

5. Lieutenant Leary enters Trump, by Card, out of Con- 
tractor, second dam Leader, by Mule-Teer, out of Wagon. 
Age, ten years. Colors, lemon. 

6. Lieutenant Jackson enters Abyssinia, by Napier, out 
of Africa, dam Theodorus, by Solomon, out of Magdala. 
Age, thirty -nine years. Colors, scarlet, yellow spots. 

7. Colonel Myers enters Pizzarro, by Peru, out of South 
America, second dam Cuzco, by Incas, out of Andes. Age, 
sixteen years. Colors, light brown. 

8. Lieutenant Umbstaetter enters Skirmisher, by Picket, 
out of Camp, second dam Carbine, by Breech Loader, out of 
Magazine. Age, twenty -five years. Colors, dark blue, tipped 
with red. 

9. Lieutenant Moylan enters Break-Neck, by Runaway, 
out of Wouldn't Go, second dam Contusion, by Collision, 
out of Accident. Age, fifty-six. Colors, sky blue. 

10. Captain Huntington, enters Spavin, by Quartermaster, 
out of Government, second dam (not worth one). Age, 
twenty-one years. Colors, a-knock-to-ruin (an octoroon). 

11. Lieutenant Howe enters Slow, by Tardy, out of Late, 
second dam Lazy, by Inactive. Age, three times 6, four 
times seven, twenty-eight and 11. Colors, queer. 

12. Lieutenant Dunwoody enters Horatio, by Dexterity, 
by Taunt, second dam Estop. Age, fourteen years. Colors, 
tawney. 

13. Captain Weir enters Revolutionist, by Hard Luck, 
out of Rib Smasher, second dam Blood Blister, by Can't- 
Stand-it, out of Let's Quit. Age, sixteen. Colors, black- 
and-blue. 

Note. — The money accruing from this race is to be devoted to the 
support of the widows and orphans made so thereby. 



If there is a reporter more energetic tHaii another it 
is the Western man. The enterprise that drives him 



■ A SLOW MULE-EACE. 141 

West furnishes plenty of perseverance to penetrate 
wherever there promises to be novelty. The mule-race 
was unique, and the Leavenworth newspaper proved 
that there was a " chiel amang us takin' notes," which 
was, in reality, very easy to do, as the soldier, though 
he is silent on duty, cannot be muzzled when he gets 
furlough to go into town. The personal references in 
the following newspaper article were to officers who 
were either very large, very staid, or extremely quiet, 
and in one or two instances no longer young, which 
made the allusions extremely funny to us who knew 
them. The sensational exaggeration of Western jour- 
nalism is sometimes got up to order now, in expecta- 
tion of the instant appropriation of the wit by ex- 
changes ; but at that time it was spontaneous, and 
reflected the every -day habits of speech in the West : 

THE GREAT SLOW MULE-RACE TO-DAY. 

A FEAST OF REASON AND A FLOW OF SOUL. 

INTENSE EXCITEMENT - THRILLING TIMES AHEAD. 

Cato, a distinguished old grumbler, who resided some- 
where some centuries ago, it is said, rebuked a good rider 
at a steeple-chase by telling him that his skill and ability 
were thrown away. Cato owed his publisher, hence Cato 
was sour and down on racing. 

Gentle reader — that is to say, girls and boys — were you 
ever at a mule-race — a slow mule-race — a mule-race with 
Sheridan and Card and Gibbs and McNutt and Mills ? If 
not, we advise you to go this afternoon. 



W 



142 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

THE RACE. 

Every commissioned officer at this post has either to ride 
at the race this afternoon or pay a forfeit of five dollars. As 
money is scarce, and times tough at present, nearly all the 
officers will ride. At the call of time each rider is to mount 
his own mule, and parade before the judge's stand to show 
that he is not afraid. The judge then gives the order to 
dismount and " swap mules." At this command every rider 
mounts a strange mule — no one being allowed to ride his 
own. Then, at a signal, all start, each riding his darndest, 
and the mule that comes in last wins the race. 



With feelings of deep regret we announce that the major- 
general commanding will not ride. This may be relied on 
as positive. He has paid his forfeit. He had bought him 
a little bob-tailed, blue, mouse-colored mule, and was train- 
ing him like Sam Hill, when an idea struck him, to wit, that 
there were poets in Kansas. Suppose, thought he, that one 
of these fellows should get olf a strain called " Sheridan's 
Mule-ride !" The thought sickened him, and, as aforesaid, 
he paid his forfeit. Buchanan Reid came near ruining 
Sheridan. After Jim Murdock first spouted the poem, every 
little girl and boy, every tough old maid, every big-paunched 
parson, every lawyer, every doctor, and everybody just rode 
Sheridan, until, from sheer exhaustion, he asked to be sent 
to the Indian country. 

GIBBS WILL RIDE. 

The gallant general commanding the post will ride — 
feather-weight. The general is said to be an accomplished 
mulist. General McNutt will also ride his trained mule 
Calamity, said to be one of the slowest mules in the depart- 
ment. 

Card and Morgan have paired off, and paid their forfeits 



A SLOW MDLE-KACE. 143 

like men. Both were raised on mules, as it were, and liave 
ridden them from infancy, but the responsibilities weighing 
upon them were too great, and they were reluctantly forced 
to forego. 

Dr. Mills won't ride, as he expects to be on hand to attend 
the wounded. He paid his forfeit like a Muncie chief. 
Dr. Brewer will be there, however, with his black-and-tan 
mule, Esculapius, and expects to get round if they will give 
him time enough. 

The gallant Yates, with his massive three-deck jackass, 
proposes to go through on his own quarter-deck. 

Both the Forsyths will appear above the horizon, and be 
visible to the naked eye, on gorgeous mules. Three friends 
are backing them against the field. 

The chivalrous Parsons and the fiery Custer are practising 
on two mules. We saw them the other evening " rehears- 
ing" in a ten-acre field, to the tune of "Benny Havens."* 
They propose to cross the last ditch, and as they are polite- 
ness itself, each will insist on crossing last. 

The magnificent band from the Fort will be on hand to 
discourse sweet music. Boys, you'd better go and take the 
girls. These mule-races are fine places to study human nat- 
ure. Every jackass, properly observed, contains a sermon — 
or perhaps two. Else why did Goldsmith write of the Vicar 
of Bray ? f 

When McKeever rides everybody should be on hand. 
Talk of John Gilpin or Israel Putnam ! They are nothing 
to McKeever on a graphic mule. McKeever's friends are 
taking odds on him. Boys, go ! 

When the race finally began each officer forgot per- 
sonal appearance, ignored the ridiculous position into 

* The West Point tune. 

f The reporter's information concerning classic English litera- 
ture seems to have needed some refreshing. 



144: FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

which he had put himself, and bent every energy of 
his body and mind to getting over that mile of earth. 
It was as ridiculous a sight as is not often seen. Men 
who prided themselves on having a perfect seat in the 
saddle, now doubled up in a heap, dug their knees into 
the animals' sides, and shouted as they tried to get the 
" dumb, driven " creatures into a gallop. Imagine how 
surprised the mules must have been to be lashed into 
a lumbering run ! The officers' legs and arms were fly- 
ing, the mules' long ears flopping in indignation, while 
their tails flew up in angry protest at every cut of the 
whip. These queer tails were shaved according to the 
fancy of the teamsters, only one little tuft usually being 
left on the end, like a lion's brush, while in some cases 
two rings of hair were spared at stated intervals to 
vary the plain surface. Whether tufted or plain, the 
animated tails expressed the mules' idea of the situa- 
tion most graphically. 

As each officer came straggling in by the judge's 
stand, quite done up with fatigue from his exertions 
in chastising his animal, he was greeted with applause ; 
but when, after fifteen minutes, the last one entered, 
fagged and heated with the whacking he had adminis- 
tered to the unconscious and indifferent winner of the 
prize, all the company lifted up their voices in cries of 
excited merriment, while the beast that had won on his 
demerits and not on his gifts, if he had any, declined 
even to look around, but hung his dejected head and 
drooped his wide ears, and allowed the anger to depart 
from the much tufted and trimmed appendage, while 



A SLOW MULE-EACE. 145 

he was decked witli a gaudy ribbon as an emblem of 
victory. 

Then our gay afternoon ended, and every one mount- 
ed spirited horses and started for home. First came 
the officers, eagerly talking over the race to the women 
who rode by their sides ; then all the orderlies, riding 
at the regulation distance in the rear, disputing quietly, 
for fear of reprimand, over their especial views of the 
afternoon sport ; while a crowd of vociferous, jolly sol- 
diers, too far back to be heard and brought to order, 
laughed and shouted and rehearsed the events of the 
day in eager, buoyant tones, as pleased over the droll af- 
fair as if they had taken part in it, and each one boast- 
ed over the doings of the officer he especially liked, as 
if a vast sum of money and the reputation of thorough- 
breds had been at stake. 

The dews of evening were falling, and as our way 
for a time led through the rich bottom-land of the 
river, the flowers and the blossoms of the wild grape 
loaded the air with fragrance. It is seldom that so 
light-hearted and joyous a company of people is gath- 
ered together. They were light in pocket, it is true, 
but rich in health, in the keenest capability for enjoy- 
ment, in blessed fellowship for each other. Take envy 
out of a character and it leaves great possibility for 
friendship. Every one was so nearly even in the dis- 
tribution of this world's goods and its gifts that there 
was little chance for that covetousness which eats like 
a canker. 

If we had gone out with full purses, and had returned 
10 



146 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

with them empty, after the fashion of the race-course, 
the laugh would not have been so ringing, or the sound 
of merriment in the voices so free and fun-provoking. 
Delighting in contrasts, we drew pictures of the now 
distinguished - looking men as they had appeared in 
their grotesque attitudes and ridiculous energy over 
the " cattle " they had urged on to victory. The cav- 
alcade was now something to rejoice in, and as the long 
line of horsemen wound through the wood and along 
the country road, the days of knight-errantry might 
seem, in the dim twilight, to have returned again in this 
nineteenth century. 



1RoQue'6 /Rarcb. 




Poor old 



i 



p=5^ 









sol - dier. Poor old sol - dier, He'll be tarred and feathered and 






j—Dij-rJ — iz^ — ^4: 



sent 



to h— 1, Be - cause he would -n't sol - dier well.' 



^= 



I 



CHAPTER XI. 



TALES OF SOLDIERS DEVOTION AND DEOLLERT. 

By one of tlie changes that are constantly occurring 
in tlie line of duty, our brother Tom lost his tent-mate. 
There was no use in lamenting this apparently small 
circumstance, but still we could not help doing so, as 
the two had great comfort out of the intimate com- 
panionship ; but there was another, and a ludicrous as- 
pect of the change. Colonel Tom's tent-mate was afraid 
of snakes, and had good reason to be, as is subsequent- 
ly explained. He had used Tom as a barricade on one 
side of the mattress spread on the ground, while the 
combined outfit of the two was heaped upon the other, 
as if it had all belonged to the younger oflScer, and thus 
he slept. This great, splendid fellow Tom, groaning 



148 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

over the exposed position lie was destined to occupy 
alone in his tent, was an amusing sight ; but his anxie- 
ties were very real, and nothing was too small in the 
way of a grievance for all of us to enter into it sympa- 
thetically in that circumscribed life. As the officer 
moving sat with us his man, an old Irish soldier named 
Hughes, kept travelling by carrying the " traps " of his 
lieutenant. Presently Tom cried out to the soldier : 
" See here, Hughes, it seems to me you're making a 
good many journeys, considering the condition of your 
lieutenant's wardrobe," and out he went to overhaul 
the load. Hughes, to reconcile his officer to leaving 
his tent-mate, and to supply some long-felt wants in 
the improvident lieutenant's outfit, had quietly ex- 
tracted some of Tom's best things. When Tom came 
back with a bundle, of which he had relieved Hughes, 
he found even his tooth-brush and sponge in the par- 
cel, and the laughing lieutenant, shaking with fun at 
Tom's indignation, said, calmly : " Hughes is so provi- 
dent I never seem to need anything ; I never ask how 
it happens that my holey socks are replaced by good 
ones, and my ragged underclothing in a single night 
comes out whole, if I happen to have a guest, but I do 
draw the line at a second-hand supply of tooth-brushes 
and sponges. There are limits even to friendship, and 
those two commodities I prefer shall be new." 

It is, and has been for all time, a characteristic of 
army servants that however immaculate their honesty 
may be where they themselves are concerned (and they 
can be trusted with everything), they relax when it 



149 

comes to setting up the officer tliey serve with what 
they think a suitable outfit. 

Once at Winchester, during the war, we entertained 
General Sheridan and his staff. It was a cold night, 
and the officers did not all take an orderly, as is their 
custom, not liking to expose the men to the bitter air. 
While we were welcoming and ontertaining our guests 
in the old Virginia house used as headquarters, our 
men in the stable were doing the same with the order- 
lies. As the pipes went round, and the canteen of w^his- 
key was tipped, one soldier, conspiring with his com- 
rades, slipped out of the circle and replaced all the 
shining bridles, and some of the fresh saddle-cloths 
and stirrups, with our well-worn property. In the dark, 
and in the excitement of departure, these changes were 
not noticed ; but next morning a friendly note came 
with very pointed remarks about the cavalry thief be- 
ing the most unscrupulous and adroit in the service, 
and the first that General Custer knew of the "lift- 
ing" was the announcement that General Sheridan 
made. No one could help laughing, however, at the 
shameless audacity of our men, who thought a major- 
general's outfit just as available for looting purposes as 
that of a second lieutenant, when the replenishing of 
their own officers' outfit was in question. 

The devotion of the soldiers to their officers w\is so 
great that they were capable of such self-sacrifice as is 
seldom known outside of the army. They kept the 
purse sometimes, and when their spendthrift master 
demanded money, if he happened to be not quite him- 



150 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

self, the faithful soldier refused to give it, or declared 
that it was all gone ; but afterwards, when the mess bill 
was to be paid, the necessary funds were forthcoming. 
I remember that General Custer and I were paying 
a visit at the tent of an Irish officer who had turned 
himself over to his man for safe-keeping. Literally, he 
had given himself up to be directed as Finnigan willed 
— not, of course, in official affairs, but in every-day do- 
ings. He even enjoyed declaring that he had no fur- 
ther responsibility in life. Finnigan kept track of his 
purse, his clothes, his outfit, his debts. He did not 
know where anything was, and he did not propose to 
inquire. "Wishing to show us some decorations he had 
received in foreign service, he called to his man. Fin- 
nigan, clean, respectful, unspoiled by the familiarity and 
dependence of his master, produced the orders from his 
own little " A " tent at the rear. This captain, proud 
as Finnigan was of him, sometimes became so hopeless- 
ly boozy, the man concluded that the safest place for 
the valuables and the family funds was in his own quar- 
ters. As we held these precious possessions, admiring 
their beauty, and drawing their owner out to tell us of 
the field on which they were won, the subject turned 
upon the Pope. Finnigan visibly swelled with pride 
to think his master had once been in the service of that 
magnate. His straight back became straighter, and his 
expressive face spoke volumes. I sometimes thought 
the enforced silence of a soldier taught him to use his 
body as well as his face in expressing thought, and 
made them both take the place of speech. Suddenly 



TALES OF SOLDIEES' DEVOTION AND DROLLERY, 151 

there was a limp look about him, his militaiy spinal 
column seemed to have hollowed out and to droop, and 
his face looked reproof and disapproval. In trying to 
account for this change I attributed it to the conversa- 
tion. It was, if I am not mistaken, the summer when 
the doctrine of the infallibility of the Pope was agitated. 
The captain was a Romanist, but not an ultra one, and 
Finnigan had looked remonstrance when the laughing 
officer said to us, " Why, I have had so many notices of 
excommunication I feel strange if I waken and don't 
find one waiting for me every morning now." 

The wit among these men was fully appreciated by 
all of us, and very clever remarks filtered through the 
kitchen which we never would have heard otherwise. 
If an old soldier was addressed by an officer he replied 
as briefly as possible, in obedience to the instructions of 
his sergeant. Consequently, they habitually condensed 
their replies, having so little chance at speech with the 
officers, and no one tried to keep a straight face when 
some of the Irishmen made answer. The higher the 
rank the more the officer spoke with his men, those of 
higher grade having reached that point in exaltation 
where silence was not necessary to compel respect, as 
in the case of the raw lieutenant. A ranking officer of 
the Seventh said to an old soldier who was married to a 
camp woman, and had lately been presented with twins, 
"Well, Scott, I hear you've got a couple of recruits at 
your quarters." A most pompous military salute was 
given, accompanied by a pleased grin, and the reply, 
" 1^0, sir, a recruit and a laundress." 



152 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

The mistakes of the raw recruits came around also 
by way of the kitchen tent to us, and afforded us many 
a laugh. For instance, a company drawn up in line is 
the severest type of exactitude. Each soldier stands 
like a statue, and if he does bend out in front, or his 
shoulders stoop the least bit, the sergeant claps the 
back of his sabre on the offending outline, and it 
straightens in a twinkling. The men, drilled to this 
immobility, stand without swaying while the roll is 
called. A certain sergeant, who had been promoted 
from the ranks of recruits for soldierly conduct, had 
not yet learned to distinguish accurately between offi- 
cial and social affairs. He seemed to think domestic 
as well as military news must be officially set forth, 
and on one occasion he reported his company " pres- 
ent, or accounted for," and, without pausing to take 
breath, continued, '^ Mulligan's baby's dead, sir." 

Another incident illustrative of army life may be 
mentioned. An infantry officer was calling on a cav- 
alry general, and they fell to discussing the discipline 
of the two arms of the service, each claiming for his 
own corps the more advanced state of military perfec- 
tion. While they conversed a cavalry orderly brought 
a despatch, and before he could dismount his horse 
stumbled and threw him over his head, landing him in 
front of the officers. In an instant the man was on his 
feet, and saluting, he handed the paper to his officer 
with undisturbed face. The infantry officer was aston- 
ished at this quick recovery, and prompt compliance 
with military etiquette; but turning to his companion, 



TALES OF soldiers' DEVOTION AND DROLLERY. 153 

he met a perfectly immobile countenance, as, with a 
wave of the hand, the cavalry commander said, *' That's 
the way they always report." 

In military life it is rather difficult to approach the 
commanding officer, for were it not so the men would 
run to him, like a lot of school-boys, with every trifling 
complaint. The soldier is therefore required to speak 
to his sergeant, he in turn to his captain, and the latter 
gives permission to the enlisted man to carry his re- 
quest or complaint in person, if it proves to be of suf- 
ficient consequence. Rather an elderly man had come 
on as recruit, and he, not knowing the " divinity that 
doth hedge " a commanding officer, said to his troop 
commander, "See here, cap'n, where's the old man? 
I want to have a talk with him." After that General 
Custer went by the name of " the Old Man " among 
his brother officers when off duty. 

The town of Hays City, near us, was a typical West- 
ern place. The railroad having but just reached there, 
the " roughs," who fly before civilization, had not yet 
taken their departure. There was hardly a building 
worthy of the name, except the station-house. A con- 
siderable part of the place was built of rude frames 
covered with canvas; the shanties were made up of 
slabs, bits of drift-wood, and logs, and sometimes the 
roofs were covered with tin that had once been fruit 
or vegetable cans, now flattened out. A smoke rising 
from the surface of the street might arrest your atten- 
tion, but it indicated only an underground addition to 
some small " shack," built on the surface of the earth. 



154 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

The carousing and lawlessness of Hajs City were in- 
cessant. Pistol-shots were heard so often it seemed a 
perpetual Fourth of July, only without the harmless- 
ness of that pyrotechnic holiday. The aim of a border 
ruffian is so accurate that a shot was pretty certain to 
mean a death, or, at least, a serious wound for some 
one. As we sat under our fly in camp, where all was 
order, and where harmony reigned, the report of pistol- 
shots came over the intervening plains to startle us. 
The officers, always teasing, as is so apt to be the case 
with those who are overflowing with animal spirits, 
would solemnly say to us, " There goes a man to his 
long home ;" and this producing the shudder in me 
that was expected, they elicited more shivering and 
sorrowful ejaculations by adding, as the shots went on, 
'' 'Now, there goes a woman ; two were shot last night." 
Our men knew so much of the worthlessness of these 
outlaw lives that it was difficult to arouse pity in them 
for either a man's or a woman's death in the border 
towns. 

It was at Hays City that the graveyard was begun 
with interments of men who had died violent deaths, 
and there were thirty -six of their graves before we 
left. The citizens seemed to think no death worthy 
of mention unless it was that of some one who had 
died " with his boots on." There was enough desper- 
ate history in the little town in that one summer to 
make a whole library of dime novels. I should not 
have heard much about these things had not the men 
delighted to shock the three women in camp with 



TALES OF soldiers' DEVOTION AND DROLLERY. 155 

these tales of bloodshed; and, besides, it was rather 
difficult to keep us in ignorance of much that occurred 
in the town, as our soldiers were, unfortunately, en- 
gaged in many an affray with the citizens. No matter 
if our men were as much to blame as the rest, it w^as 
quite natural that we should be interested, and disposed 
to defend our own. 

Soldiers seem always capable of escaping the vigi- 
lance of the sentinel, and after waiting till taps had 
long sounded, and the camp was still, they stole away, 
and no one was the wiser, for they were at reveille in 
the morning. If one of them got drunk, bruised, or 
wounded, the rest brought him home and propped 
him up to report at reveille ; or, if he was too much 
intoxicated, they hid him until he was sober. If two 
or three men of a company were worsted in some en- 
counter in town, they had only to come back and tell 
their version of the story to their comrades ; the com- 
pany would take the matter up, and such valiant par- 
tisans were they that even the sober, law-abiding ones 
would set out the next night to " clean out the town." 
When such a night came it seemed to us that an en- 
gagement was going on, for as many shots were fired 
as in a skirmish with a military foe. Next morning 
our men, if victors, revealed where they had been ; but 
if they were driven off the enemy's ground, the van- 
quished kept sullen silence. 

There was an officer of the guard each day, whose 
duty it was to remain at the guard-tent throughout the 
twenty-four hours. It was odious duty, but every kind 



156 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

of precaution was taken to keep the men from leaving 
camp. It was pretty solemn business when the detail 
came to either of the two officers whose wives were 
with them; but when they obtained permission to 
bring their wives to the regiment, it was with the un- 
derstanding that their presence should not interfere 
with any duty. With such a stipulation it goes with- 
out saying that we three women made as little trouble 
as possible. "With a whole camp of faithful soldiers 
who, no matter what they did outside, would never 
harm their own, the wives of the two lieutenants were 
perfectly safe ; still they quieted themselves, if left 
alone, one with her pistol beside her at night, the other 
with her husband's sabre. We all laughed at a huge 
lock one of them had put on a door which was made 
of some canvas stretched over a light wooden frame. 
To turn the key in that cumbrous lock seemed to give 
her a feeling of security. If an officer suggested, teas- 
ingly, how quickly an entrance might be made with a 
penknife in the canvas, she took the sabre in her vig- 
orous hand, and replied, " Whoever comes will not get 
very far." Often and often our soldier-servants pitch- 
ed their shelter tents outside ours, or brought their 
blankets and slept under the fly to assure us that they 
were watching, if we happened to be alone. 

One night Mrs. Smithy was by herself, as her hus- 
band was officer of the guard. She was awakened 
with a start by hearing muffled sounds of voices. An 
altercation was going on at the creek, which was so 
near her tent that every word could be heard through 



157 

the canvas. The main camp was too far to be reached 
by the sound of her voice, she reasoned, and she asked 
herself what sort of showing she should have even if 
her soldier-servant came from his shelter tent at the 
rear of hers, as they would be but two against so many. 
All the voices were threatening but one, and that 
tremblingly appealing. She shivered with fright, and 
sat up in her camp-bed with her pistol in her hand. 
There was scuffling, and suppressed though angry and 
profane conversation. All this fracas, as these men 
crossed the stream, was unlike the conduct of soldiers ; 
she felt sure that it was a party of desperadoes from 
the town, coming to the border of the camp to pillage 
and murder. It seemed ages before the threatening 
sounds ceased. Then there was a splashing and plung- 
ing in the water, and all was still. 

Next morning brought a solution of the mystery. 
A cavalry horse, tied in front of one of the saloons in 
town, had been stolen. As soon as the theft was dis- 
covered the soldiers gave chase, and came up with the 
thief in a ravine beyond the town. The man knew 
perfectly that death was the recognized penalty for 
horse-stealing. Murder was considered a comparative- 
ly trivial crime by all the border people. The soldiers 
bound the man, put a rope around his neck, and start- 
ed him towards camp. There were no trees on which 
to hang him, so he was brought on and on, with the 
expectation that his last hour had come. As he neared 
Big Creek, and the trees appeared, he was sure that 
he would soon dangle from a limb ; but the soldiers, 



158 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

having recovered their horse, had no idea of such ven- 
geance. They considered that many a man would 
rather be sliot down at once than live through such a 
period of fear as he had passed while travelling over 
miles of prairie to eternity, as he supposed. After 
some parting words of admonition, mingled with oaths 
and threats, he was set free ; and it was to all this ser- 
mon from the soldiers, and to the entreaties for mercy 
from the criminal, that Mrs. Smithy had listened. 

Civilians were not so lenient with offenders. I was 
set into terror of excitement by knowing that crime 
was going on so near us — and unpunished as it was, 
there was no manner of doubt that it would be repeat- 
ed until some culprit should suffer. But there was 
nothing at hand to serve as a gallows. There was no 
lumber, and logs could not be dragged from the stream 
even had any one taken time from the gambling, the 
dickering, and the horse-racing to so much as fell them. 
Finally, a horse-thief was caught in the town, and the 
citizens, aflame with wrath which had no time to cool, 
dragged the culprit to the nearest railroad bridge — 
really not much more than a culvert — and here the 
thief hung as a warning to all. From that time for- 
ward the improvised gallows had many such a burden 
swaying in the Kansas wind. In our hunts and our 
pleasure rides I asked to shun the railroad track, for I 
never felt sure that we might not come upon a ghastly 
body swinging from the beams that supported the 
bridge. 



Catering. 




CHAPTER XII. 



WILD BILL AS A MAGISTRATE. 

Sometimes the fights took place in broad daylight, 
and the streets were soon cleared, for even those out- 
laws were not willing to encounter a stray bullet, if 
they were not personally engaged in the altercation. 
At one time General Miles and General Custer went 
to meet General Schofield and his staff, and while they 
waited at the station a terrific row began ; the air was 
filled with flying bullets, and no one had any thought, 
seemingly, but of murder. The two officers in the sta- 
tion could not attempt to quell this maddening crowd, 
and their only course was to remain quietly in the 
building ; but General Custer, being in some exposed 
position, was intensely amused to have his brave com- 
rade, in looking out for his safety, say, " Lie low, Cus- 
ter, lie low !" 

Occasionally we went to the train to see excursion- 
ists who had telegraphed us to meet them. The offi- 
cers were all of them more than strict in their injunc- 
tions to us to look neither to the right nor to the left in 
the town, and as they shut us in behind the closed cur- 
tains of the travelling-carriage they called out, laugh- 
ingly, but nevertheless in earnest, " No peeking, now." 



160 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

The driver had his loaded carbine beside him, and lis- 
tened attentively to some whispered instructions as he 
took up his reins. He was told, in addition, to draw 
up at the depot on the side farthest from the town, 
where our escort, having ridden beside the wagon, lift- 
ed us dow^n and hurried us out of what seemed like a 
" Black Maria," it was so dismal in the carriage, and 
we were taken into the station, where the crowd was 
kept away by the dignity and authority of the officers' 
manner. One of the guests did '' peek " through, and 
seeing the tables in the saloons with heaps of money, 
guarded by knives and revolvers, she was frightened 
into never looking again. 

In one of these excursion parties were some of our 
Eastern acquaintances, and they begged to see Wikl 
Bill. They sent the brakeman into the little street to 
ask him to come in, and they gave flowers to any by- 
stander whom they saw, requesting that they be given 
to the renowned scout. But the more he was pursued 
wuth messages the more he retired from sight, hiding 
in the little back room of one of the drinking-saloons 
opposite. He was really a very modest man and very 
free from swagger and bravado. Finally, General Cus- 
tei*, persuaded by pretty girls, whom no one ever can 
resist, returned with the hero of the hour, for Wild 
Bill and General Custer were fast friends, having faced 
danger together many times. 

Bill's face was confused at the words of praise with 
which General Custer introduced him, and his fearless 
eyes were cast down in chagrin at the torture of being 



WILD BILL AS A MAGISTRATE. 161 

gazed at by the crowd. He went through the en- 
forced introduction for General Custer's sake, but it 
was a relief when the engine whistle sounded that re- 
leased him. 

Physically, lie was a delight to look upon. Tall, 
lithe, and free in every motion, he rode and walked as 
if every muscle was perfection, and the careless swing 
of his body as he moved seemed perfectly in keeping 
with the man, the country, the time in which he lived. 
I do not recall anything finer in the way of physi- 
cal perfection than Wild Bill when he swung himself 
lightly from his saddle, and with graceful, swaying 
step, squarely set shoulders and well poised head, ap- 
proached our tent for orders. He was rather fantasti- 
cally clad, of course, but all that seemed perfectly in 
keeping with the time and place. He did not make an 
armory of his waist, but carried two pistols. He wore 
top-boots, riding breeches, and dark-blue flannel shirt, 
with scarlet set in the front. A loose neck-handker- 
chief left his fine firm throat free. I do not at all re- 
member his features, but the frank, manly expression 
of his fearless eyes and his courteous manner gave one 
a feeling of confidence in his word and in his undaunt- 
ed courage. 

There was no question that in the affrays in which 
he was often engaged he dealt murderous blows and 
shot unerring bullets ; and one of the stories others told 
of him, as he was not given to boasting of his prowess, 
was of the invasion of five men in his sleeping-room in 
one of the new towns, where no law was established. 
11 



1G2 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

These desperate characters locked the door, but though 
Wild Bill was in bed he did not lose his presence of 
mind. Some one hearing the noise of the contest 
burst open the door, and found four of the assailants 
dead on the floor, and Wild Bill stretched fainting on 
the bed across the dead body of the fifth assassin. His 
appearance bore no traces of this desperate side of his 
life. He was "the mildest manner'd man that ever 
scuttled ship or cut a throat." While on duty, carry- 
ing despatches, he let no temptation lure him into the 
company of the carousers who acknowledged him as 
their king. His word was law and gospel in that lit- 
tle town, for even where no laws are respected the 
word and the will of one man, who is chosen leader, is 
often absolute. 

The impression left upon my mind by the scouts 
of which Wild Bill was the chief was of their extreme 
grace. Their muscles were like steel, but they might 
have been velvet, so smooth and flexible seemed every 
movement. Wild Bill reminded me of a thorough-bred 
horse. Uncertain as was his origin, he looked as if he 
had descended from a race who valued the body as a 
choice possession, and therefore gave it every care. 
He not only looked like a thorough-bred, but like a 
racer, for he seemed, even in repose, to give evidence 
of great capabilities of endurance — of fine "staying 
powers," in his own vernacular. The days of the 
Greeks are slowly returning to us, when the human 
form will be so cared for that no develoj^ment it is ca- 
pable of will be neglected. Among the white aborig- 



WILD BILL AS A MAGISTRATE. 163 

ines of the plains, the frontiersmen and scouts, there 
have long existed fine specimens of physical develop- 
ment that one seldom encounters among people who 
live an in-door life. 

When not in camp, Wild Bill was off duty, and con- 
sequently ruling his realm, the turbulent town. Some 
of our men having received, as they considered, a dead- 
ly insult to their company, determined to right their 
wrongs, and planned to assassinate the renowned scout. 
In these feuds there was very little margin for the 
right on either side. In our ranks were just as law- 
less men as were found in Hays City, but the strict 
discipline of military life soon subdues the most vio- 
lent spirits. In the town, however, with restraints re- 
moved, the bluff and the bully showed forth in his true 
colors. A little of the very bad liquor sold there turn- 
ed an obedient soldier into a wrangling boor. Three 
desperate characters, planning to kill Wild Bill, de- 
cided that no one of them stood any chance if the 
scout was left the use of his arms ; not only was his 
every shot sure, but he was so lithe and quick, and so 
constantly on the alert for attack, that it was next to 
impossible to do him any injury. It was planned that 
one soldier should leap upon his back, and hold down 
his head and chest, while another should pinion his 
arms. It is impossible in the crowded little dens, im- 
perfectly lighted, and with air dense with smoke, al- 
ways to face a foe. Wild Bill was attacked from be- 
hind, as had been planned. His broad back was borne 
down by a powerful soldier, and his arms seized, but 



164 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

only one was held in the clinching grasp of the assail- 
ant. With the free hand the scout drew his pistol 
from the belt, fired backw^ard without seeing, and liis 
shot, even under these circumstances, was a fatal one. 
The soldier dropped dead, the citizens rallied round 
Wild Bill, the troopers were driven out of the town, 
but not without loud threats of vengeance. There was 
no question among the citizens but that every tlireat 
would be carried out, and it was decided that if Wild 
Bill hoped for life at all he must flee. It was impos- 
sible for General Custer to interfere in such a contest. 
His jurisdiction did not extend to the brawls of the 
town ; the soldiers off duty were not punished, unless 
the citizens found something so flagrant, and proof of 
the dereliction so positive, that the o£Pence must be in- 
vestigated by a court-martial. 

So Wild Bill, the most daring and valuable scout in 
the West, had to leave. I have heard General Custer 
say that he did not believe the scout ever shot a man 
except in self-defence; but no one who mingled in 
such melees, where infuriated mobs of men followed 
every savage impulse of their nature, could ptjgsibly 
hope for justice. The regiment lieard w^ith regret of 
his being murdered afterwards in the Black Hills. A 
man whose brother had been shot in an affray in which 
Wild Bill had been a participant followed him into 
the Black Hills, and finding him sitting at table with 
his companions, the miners, shot hijn in the back. With 
his marvellous coolness, courage, and self-control, above 
all, with that rare gift which is given to few, compara- 




THE SCOUT. 



WILD BILL AS A MAGISTRATE. 165 

tively, of control over men — doubly, trebly remarkable 
when exercised over outlaws — with a nature that evi- 
dently was not devoid of refinement (for he was singu- 
larly free, the officers told me, from profanity or coarse 
ribald language), his seemed to all of us as conspicuous 
an instance of wasted life as we had ever known. A 
nature trained in such a career as his was, however, 
could never have submitted itself to civilization, and 
his death was the necessary ending of such a life. His 
grave, on a bleak hill-side, bore this inseription : 

I. B. HICKOCK, 

(" WILD BILL,") 

KILLED BY THE ASSASSLX JACK McCALL, 
July 4th, 1876. 

Pard, we shall meet again in the happy hunting-ground, to part no more. 

D. H. UTTER. 

(" COLORADO CHARLIE.") 

It seems rather singular that two valued scouts like 
Wild Bill and California Joe should have lost their 
lives during the same summer that the man they so 
faithfully served offered up his life for his country. 
We had no letters from Wild Bill ; but he sent friend- 
ly messages by many a roundabout route. California 
Joe wrote several letters, the last of which is given as 
characteristic of himself. The "counsil house," we 
inferred, alluded to the State legislature. 

SiERE Nevada Mountians California Mar. 16 74 
Dear Geneal after my respets to you and Lady i thought 
that i tell you that i am still on top of land yet i have been 
in the rocky mountian the most of the time sence last i seen 



166 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

you but i got on the railroad and and started west and the 
first thing i knew i landed in san Francisco so i could not go 
any farther except going by water and salt water at that so 
i turned back and headed for the mountains once more re- 
solved never to go railroading no more i drifted up with the 
tide to Sacramento city and i landed my boat so i took up 
through town they say there is 20 thousand people living 
there but it look to me to be 100 thousand counting china- 
man and all i cant discribe my wolfish feeling but i think 
that i look just like i did when we was chaseing Bujffalo on 
the simarone so i struk up though town and i come to a 
large fine bulling crouded with people so i bulged in to see 
what was going on and when i got in to the counsil house i 
took a look around at the croud and i seen the most of them 
had bald heads so i thaught to myself i struck it now that 
they are indian peace commissioners so i look to see if i 
would know any of them but not one, so after while the 
smartest look one got up and said gentlemen i introduce a 
bill to have speckle mountain trout and fish eggs imported 
to Cal. to be put in the american Bear and Yuba rivers (those 
rivers is so muddy that a tadpole could not live in them 
caused by minging) did any body ever hear of a speckle 
trout living in muddy water and the next thing was the game 
law and that was very near as bad as the Fish for they aint 
no game in the country as big as mawking bird 1 heard 
some fellow behind me ask now long is the legislature been 
in sesion then i dropt on myself so i slid out took acros 
to Chinatown and they smelt like a Ciowa camp in August 
with plenty buffalo meat around it was getting late so no 
place to go not got a red cent so i hapen to thing of an old 
friend back of town that i knowed 25 years ago so i lit out 
and sure enough he w^as thar just as i left him 25 yr ago 
backing so i got a few scads i going to platte in a few day 
give my respects to the Tth Calvery and excipt the same 
yourself California Joe 



WILD BILL AS A MAGISTKATE. 167 

A little joniTiey we made that summer comes to me 
now, and as it does not seem at all like any travelling 
one would ever be likely to do in the States, an ac- 
count of it is offered by way of contrast. A great 
event was about to happen to the Ousters. The fam- 
ily idol, the petted mare, was to run a race at Leaven- 
worth. There was incessant gabble in the tent, and it 
was all horse-talk. The past records of other famous 
animals were taken out for inspection ; the newspapers 
chronicling the feats of the mare's competitors were 
spread over chairs and tables ; the men who had seen 
races talked wisely and well, and every one was on tip- 
toe of anticipation. The mare I dearly loved. She 
had shared our hardships with us. Once, in a pro- 
longed cold and penetrating storm. General Ouster 
had brought her up from the picket line, loaded her 
with blankets, and placed her under our fly. I peered 
at her from the opening between the tapes that se- 
cured the front of the tent, handed out sugar, patted 
her sleek neck, and mourned over the shivering of the 
chilled and delicate creature. General Ouster asked 
me if I minded her being there, and I promptly re- 
plied that it seemed only providential that horses rare- 
ly lie down, or I knew I should be wheedled into offer- 
ing her the camp-bed. 

After this bitter experience she was sent away to 
better quarters, and given into the care of some pro- 
fessional horseman, who, after a time, wrote that he 
had entered her for a race. The racing part I hated, 
especially on a public course, but it was our mare, and 



168 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

the curse seemed someliow to be taken off. Besides, 
we had nothing to do with it; we had no money at 
stake, and Government gave us too much to do to per- 
mit us to dissuade people who might put up money 
on our mare. We had but three or four days' leave of 
absence, and it would require great expedition to get 
back at its expiration. When I was put in the travel- 
ling-carriage the curtains were all strapped down, and 
the driver armed, as usual, in case of disturbance in 
the town. I went through the usual exhortations from 
the two men — for Colonel Tom was going with us. 
They made a rather general statement that women are 
forever trying to look where they ought not to. " Now 
mind, old lady, don't you try to look out if there is a 
crevice left open. The town is nothing but a medley 
of disreputable people, and we don't wish you to see 
or be seen." The vehement Ousters jDOured these in- 
junctions in on me like hot shot. I did not " look " ; I 
was so glad to be taken along on this rare outing that 
no veteran soldier could have been more obedient. 

They lifted me out at the station from my temporary 
prison, and, as the train approached, I was hurried into 
the car, and we found a seat among the usual collec- 
tion of armed men, whose guns, leaning against the 
backs of the seats, made me as uncomfortable as pos- 
sible, for I was very much afraid of fire-arms. If a 
fleeing antelope sped over the plains the window was 
shoved violently up, out went a rifle, and off went a 
bullet that was simply absurd in its aim, for even our 
best hunters found it difficult to bring down antelope 



WILD BILL AS A MAGISTRATE. 169 

under wliat were considered favorable circumstances. 
Peace being restored, the unsuccessful marksman was 
loudly laughed at and jeered for missing his aim. 
Suddenly all the windows on one side went up with a 
bang, heads were thrust out, most of the men on the 
other side of the car plunged over, and ran their rifles 
out through any window they could reach, and dan- 
gerously near to any head that might occupy the 
opening ; and all this to attack a prairie-dog village. 

These men were dressed in every sort of costume, 
from the tattered remains of what were once tailor- 
made clothes to buckskin fashioned by their own fin- 
gers. They were ragged and unkempt in most in- 
stances. Many of the plainsmen scorned water in any 
form, and even the Texan's definition, when offered a 
glass of water, " Oh yes, that's what you wash with," 
was lost upon the real Mmrod of the West. Still 
wdth all this ignoring of the " tub " there are alleviat- 
ing circumstances. An exasperated writer speaks of 
" inhaling your fellow-creature " ; and on entering a 
Pullman -car, lately, at night, I heard some one say, 
"Here are all breaths of our brother man, carefully 
preserved from Chicago to jN'ew York." All this we 
were spared, for in the West we seldom found our- 
selves packed in crowds, as happens every day in the 
city. In addition to the soiled clothing of the foreign 
laborer, next which you snifiE and shudder in the horse- 
car, you have the additional odors of sewer gas, stale 
beer emptied into the gutters, a leaking gas-pipe, and 
hundreds of cabbage and onion dinners sending their 



170 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

domestic incense to heaven. All tliis one escapes on 
the plains. With the plainsman, Nature at least makes 
up for this ignoring of one element by blowing an- 
other through him, and sometimes taking him in a lit- 
tle encircling embrace, or touching him up with a 
small hurricane of wind which dances the delinquent 
on his feet and airs him well, nolens volens. 

Our soldiers were often nearly desperate when wa- 
ter was scarce, for it is their duty first, and afterwards 
their habit, to be clean. If a good stream was reached, 
the whole command was sometimes halted for a day on 
the march to permit the enlisted men to have a wash- 
day. When water was scarce, I have seen a buffalo- 
wallow in the West look for all the world like a hea- 
then deity. Around the circular edge knelt as many 
men as could crowd in, dipping their canteens, hollow- 
ing their horny hands into a cup, or holding their caps 
in the shallow pool of standing water that owed its 
storage-basin to the gambols of the buffalo. After tear- 
ing the turf, pawing the sod, and digging his horns 
in the ground, the buffalo rolls his huge body in the 
loosened soil, and rubs off the loose hair from his coat. 
When he is shedding he is a tattered old tramp, with 
flying bunches of faded hair sticking at intervals 
among the new. After the monster has rolled himself 
free from his last year's rags he leaves quite a hollow 
in the ground. The rain comes, is soon dried by the 
scorching sun, and the basin has a baked surface that 
holds water afterwards for many a parched throat. 

As our journey advanced, blood-curdling stories were 



WILD BILL AS A MAGISTRATE. 171 

strung out with no end of ghastly detail, with minute 
particulars of encounters with Indians, game, and des- 
peradoes. I could not help but hear, and I saw the 
frontiersmen shyly eying me, as if I had been a cu- 
riosity from another world ; but they smoked their 
pipes, and handed round the inevitable black bottle 
out on the platform, instead of in the car, for my sake ; 
but the talking, the boasting, the shooting — those were 
their best manners, under any circumstances, and they 
never thought to suppress a detail. The bones of any 
brakeman who should have had the temerity to try to 
subdue these reckless characters would have bleached 
on the plains in those days. The mounds along the 
route of travel to the Rocky Mountains were not al- 
ways raised over the mouldering bodies of exhausted 
pioneers; they marked the spot of many a deadly af- 
fray where some one of a party had paid the penalty 
which is usually attached to such encounters. 

The Kansas Pacific trains did not run at night, and 
we were compelled to stop at the little town of Ells- 
worth, if possible, even worse than Hays City. There 
was but one hotel, and that not worthy of the name. 
The building, twenty by fifty feet, had a great loft, 
low and close, where cots were as thick as they could 
stand. One narrow room was boarded off, and to this 
we were assigned. As the house was unplastered, 
and built mostly of canvas and slabs, the Kansas wind 
waved it about at will. The one large room on the 
ground-floor had the bar and billiard-table at one end, 
and the tables for dining at the other. We were, of 



172 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

course, Imngiy, and the crowd of drinking, smoking 
brawlers was kept in some sort of subjection by the 
landlord, who mentioned the talismanic name of lady 
to quiet them. It was unusual for them to see any 
one save themselves on their ground. After a hasty 
dinner — and such a dinner! — only people savagely 
hungry, as we were, could have eaten it at all — I was 
hurried up to the little den of which the landlord was 
extremely proud. The noise below going on till dawn, 
the snoring heard through the thin partition that sep- 
arated us from the lodgers, the ominous vibration of 
the rickety old building — all helped to murder sleep 
for us. 

The frontiersman had then, as now, a great " de- 
spise," as they put it, for the tenderfoot, and a party 
of buffalo - hunters, who had stopped at this hotel a 
short time before, were the subjects of much derision 
and criticism. One of the men had insisted upon wear- 
ing a "stove-pipe" hat from the East — which, to say 
the least, was inappropriate, and attracted almost as 
much attention as if he had worn a French bonnet. 
The frontiersmen scoffed and jeered at this offending 
hat, discussed the " biled shirts," and viewed the whole 
party with lofty scorn. 

The tourists did not look much like the active mus- 
cular hunter, without an ounce of superfluous flesh, 
who could ride fifty miles as easily as most people do 
^ve. Two of the party were over size, and had the 
contour which betokens good dinners and convivial 
life. One of the number was inclined to match a lit- 



WILD BILL AS A MAGISTRATE, 173 

tie Eastern swagger witli Western bravado, by telling 
with pride where they were going, and what they ex- 
pected to do, etc. A burly border ruffian raised his 
voice in the crowd that surrounded the would-be Nim- 
rods, and said, '^ You uns is the folks General Custer 
is expectin' ?" " Yes," promptly answered our friends, 
exultant, and sure no game would escape them. Emp- 
tying one cheek to transfer the quid of tobacco to the 
other, the latter jaw evidently not being the better talk- 
ing side, the frontiersman looked at these huge men 
with half-closed, sarcastic eyes, and said, " Stranger, 
I was at Custer's camp on Saturday, and he was awful 
busy a-preparing." *'AVliat was he doing?" asked the 
eager tourists. " Why, stranger, he had men out all 
the week a-corrallin' buffaloes for you fellows to kill." 
The point of the retort is lost unless one knows that 
wild buffaloes are not the animals that submit tamely 
to corralling. 

A family discussion took place, after we reached our 
room in the loft, about what to do with our brother 
Tom. All the cots outside were engaged, and had a 
roll of blankets been available everything would have 
gone well, for Tom could sleep anywhere. As it was, 
we decided to take him in, as there was an extra bed 
in our narrow room. We went in first, prepared for 
sleeping, put out the light, and called to Colonel Tom. 
He came for the place gratefully — for, with all our 
vicissitudes, we nearly always had a tent to ourselves, 
and whole families were not obliged to live in one 
room, as in a tenement. Tom praised me ; thought I 



174 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

not only remembered when in " Kome to be aKoman," 
but, since I had been willing to take him in, it was his 
opinion I was the " noblest Roman of them all "; and 
then he dropped to sleep, soon to wake with a start, 
thinking the brawlers down -stairs had ascended to 
make an attack. It Avas only his affectionate brother, 
who, from time to time, threw over on his bed, with 
such accurate aim that each shot told, shoes, stockings, 
brushes, and any other available missile. It hardly seem- 
ed a breath before the voice of the landlord woke us, 
sa^^ing that some one had forgotten to call us ; that it 
was late, and we must hurry, as the train was nearly 
ready. Tom rose first, and dressed partly in the dark, 
for the one train of the day started at dawn. The land- 
lord came again, saying the conductor was holding the 
train. As the road depended upon the Seventh Cav- 
alry to protect it, there was no lack of courtesy to the 
commanding officer. He did not wish to take ad- 
vantage of any such favor, so Colonel Tom was hur- 
ried with half his clothes to dress in the dark passage- 
way, and on me fell the whole responsibility of the 
day, for if I was late we would miss the coming sport. 
In moments of excitement the two men always talked 
as if I were not present. " What shall we do with the 
old lady?" (this name was given me by these young- 
sters when I first began to write myself Mrs.). " Can't 
we bundle her up and carry her ?" " Will you go as 
you are ?" General Custer said, turning to me at last. 
" If you say so, I can go," I replied. It would not take 
a paragraph to describe my toilet as far as I had ad- 



WILD BILL AS A MAGISTRATE. 175 

vanced. I tlirust mj feet into my shoes, General Cus- 
ter threw mj large travelling -cloak about me, Tom 
seized the hand-bags and a heap of mj clothing, and 
down the rickety steps we sprang, across the little 
space between the hotel and the cars, I not daring to 
look to the right or left among the usual crowd of 
idlers who surround all stations. I was lifted into the 
car, hurried into one corner, and the two began to plan 
about me again. This sounds as if I had no voice in 
the discussions, but tliat is giving too modest a rep- 
resentation, for I did my share ; but I only refer to it 
as a droll way the two men had of going on talking 
and arranging regardless of my vote. They decided that 
the fast - approaching day necessitated my being clad 
more fully than I then was ; so one said he would hold 
up the travelling-cloak while the other buttoned my 
shoes and helped put on the tumbled mass of apparel 
that was to make me presentable. Between the hurry, 
the laughter, and the embarrassment, no button would 
button, no hook would fasten, but the cloak was low- 
ered at last, and I looked out of the window most of 
the time, preferring the monotonous scenery to any 
chance glance I might encounter from what I feared 
would be the amused eyes of the people. 

At Leavenworth we had just time to make our toi- 
let, get something to eat, and take a carriage for the 
race-course. We went, of course, to the stall of the 
family idol. The mare was sleeker, finer, more lovely 
than ever. She knew us, and vibrated her delicate ears, 
whinnied, and arched her glossy neck in pride and love. 



176 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

Colonel Tom reminded her of some of bis past encoun- 
ters, and of his very first ride, when saddle, bridle, and 
man were gracefully lifted over her bead and dropped 
at her feet. It had been a family riddle ever since, 
bow even such an agile creature- as she could shed ev- 
ery trapping, and the rider as well, with one flourish 
of her nimble heels. Colonel Tom took occasion to re- 
mind me of the noble sacrifice I had been willing to 
make of my husband's relatives. It seems that when we 
first had the mare, she reared and plunged with such 
violence, gave such agile leaps from one side to the 
other, that I, with tears of terror streaming down my 
face, had called to General Custer, " Don't, don't mount 
the dangerous creature, let the bachelor officers try her 
first." The men without wives heard me, and as they 
valued their lives in spite of the fact that they were 
single, I never heard the last of it. 

The adulation which the slender, beautifully propor- 
tioned creature had from the whole regiment was de- 
lightful to us. AVe frequently stood about her noting 
her fine points, and assenting with responsive nods to 
any new beauty discovered. One of the pretty girls we 
entertained was somewhat discomfited one day when a 
group had gathered around the mare. Her boy brother, 
in rapt admiration, called out, " Why, sister, her ankles 
are as small as yours." The blushing girl sank down 
into her petticoats, fearing the rude and daring Kansas 
wind would try to indorse her brother's praise by lift- 
ing the concealed drapery. 

I haven't the least idea how the race at Leavenworth 



WILD BILL AS A MAGISTRATE. 177 

turned out ; I only know that had the mare been beaten, 
her admiring owners would have been certain that it 
was due to every other cause than that there was in 
existence a faster, finer horse than our beloved prop- 
erty. 
12 



tro tbe Color. 




_^_^_^^.^- 



CHAPTER XIII. 



HOME OF THE BUFFALO. 



The buffaloes were in such enormous herds all about 
us in Kansas that it seemed as if nothing could dimin- 
ish their numbers. General Sherman told me, not long 
since, that from the time we were there until the date 
of their almost total annihilation nine millions had been 
killed. After the Pacific railroads were completed the 
Indian was partially subdued, and civilization spread 
along the routes of travel ; the frontiersmen were more 
daring, and buffalo-hunting became a slaughter. The 
skin-hunters carried on a great traffic. Wherever the 
steamers stopped to wood along the Missouri the river 
was lined with heaps of hides, tied in bales ready for 



i 



HOME OF THE BUFFALO. 179 

shipment. At the railroad stations in Kansas the same 
thing was true. Seven hundred and fifty thousand 
liides were shipped from one station on the Atchison, 
Topeka, and Santa Fe road about 1874. The skin- 
hunters used this plan : One of the number still-hunted, 
singling out his animal, and firing at long range so that 
the sound of the bullet did not disturb the herd. The 
smell of the blood drew perhaps twenty about the slain 
animal, and the hunter fired at them from behind the 
carcass, where he had hidden himself on coming up to 
his dead game. The rest of the party skinned the car- 
casses, and then proceeded to follow up the herd. One 
man, an expert, has thus shot over a hundred in a day. 
The bones were gathered and shipped East also. In 
this systematic killing it is no wonder that great num- 
bers disappeared, and that now only a small herd in 
the Black Hills is reported in existence. While we 
were in Kansas the Indians were on the war-path, and 
no men were sufficiently daring in the pursuit of pelf 
to make hunting a business. The fearful destruction 
of buffaloes seems to cause national regret ; and yet, 
on the other hand, according to the theory of Mr. 
Theodore Roosevelt, who is an authority on Western 
matters, nothing has done more to settle the Indian 
question. He does not detract from our army, and 
its patient service for so many years, but less than 
twenty-five thousand men to guard our immense fron- 
tier could do little more than protect the settlers, and 
guard the builders of the railroads. It was a grief to 
lay waste the beautiful valley of the Shenandoah and 



180 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

destroy that garden of the South, thus cutting o£E the 
source of fruitful supplies for General Lee's army, and 
yet, here again, it shortened our war and saved thou- 
sands of valiant men. General Miles differs from Mr. 
Roosevelt, and thinks that were not the Indians sub- 
dued by our army nothing would keep them from the 
war-path, as they would not hesitate to kill the cattle 
on the ranches which now replace the buffaloes. The 
Clieyennes, in a raid from the Indian Territory to Mon- 
tana, did live on the cattle of the ranchmen for the 
entire distance. 

All the wide plains about us for hundreds of miles — 
and thousands, for aught I know — were stamped with 
the presence of the American bison. Innumerable 
proofs that they had long been monarchs in that great 
desert were encountered on our long marches, no mat- 
ter in what direction we moved. No other animal im- 
pressed itself so on the land as to have its trail become 
a feature of the vast country. The most noticeable of 
these evidences of their presence were the intermina- 
ble trails to the streams. Many a desert mariner, guid- 
ing his canvas-covered wagon across the trackless West- 
ern sea of prairie to the El Dorado of America, has 
saved his life by following these unfailing guides. 
The ruts were sometimes in four parallel lines, and so 
deeply cut by the huge monsters that patiently plod- 
ded through them that we often had to check our 
horses to cross safely. The narrowness of these paths 
— for they were not much wider than the impression 
of a cart-wheel — was a surprise, until I saw how closely. 



HOME OF THE BUFFALO. 181 

how evenly each lioof seemed to replace the other 
as the steady march went on. We learned very soon 
that we need not count on finding a stream near, by 
following the trail, unless it was by some rare chance, 
if in hunting it became necessary to give the horses 
and dogs water. It might be a journey of hours — for 
with a buffalo what was time ? He lived but to eat 
and drink. There was never the wild, exultant run of 
deer or antelope, which flew over the plains apparently 
from joy and excess of animal life. The solenm, prac- 
tical existence of the lumbering buffalo seemed to have 
begun before calfdom was fairly over. 

It is true there was much fighting for supremacy 
and leadership, and the heartless conduct towards the 
old bachelors of the herd is well known. When they 
showed signs of antiquity, the stronger, younger bulls 
drove the enfeebled ones out into a dreary existence, 
which, happily for them, was soon ended by the wolves 
that pursued the solitary tramp until exhaustion gave 
him up a prey to those persistent followers. Occasion- 
ally several of the outcasts from the different herds 
evidently met, even in that vast extent of country, 
and, exchanging their grievances, concluded to join 
forces and defy their joint enemy, the wolves. With 
us, unaccustomed that summer to the habits of the 
buffalo, the sight of a single animal browsing, appar- 
ently contentedly, augured an approaching herd ; and 
great was our disappointment, when the antediluvian 
was allowed to gallop off at sight of us and escape, to 
find that he was not the forerunner of a herd, but only 



182 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

an animal in disgrace because the gods did not love him 
enough to decree that he should die young. 

Many combats occurred among the bulls of the herd 
because two selected the same cow for a wife, and the 
painter who could have fixed these monsters on his 
canvas while they were raging with the fierceness of 
rivalry would have made his mark. The heads bent 
forward to the ground in attempts to gore each other, 
the burning eyeballs, the desperate plunges which they 
made, apparently oblivious of their great weight, the 
turf torn with their maddened hoofs, the air thick with 
dust and bits of loosened sod, the temporary retreats 
of the contestants only to enable them to rush at one 
another with renewed force, afforded the most mag- 
nificent example of jealous fury. Meanwhile the cow 
over which this war was waged quietly browsed near 
by. When domestic life began, the winner of the hard- 
fought battle became a very good defender of his fam- 
ily. In the great herds the cows were always in the 
centre, and a cordon of bulls surrounded them and 
their young, while outside them all were the pickets, 
which kept watch, and whose warnings were heeded at 
once if danger threatened. 

The circles, perhaps fifteen feet in circumference, 
that I saw for the first time, were one of the mysteries 
of that strange land. When the officers told me that the 
rut was made by the buffalo mother's walking round 
and round to protect her newly born and sleeping calf 
from the wolves at night, I listened only to smile in- 
credulously, with the look peculiar to an innocent who 



HOME OF THE BUFFALO. 183 

desires to convince the narrator of fables tliat he has 
met one person of superior intuition who cannot be 
gulled. I had been so often " guyed " with ridiculous 
stories, of which this last seemed the crowning exam- 
ple, that I did not believe the tale. In time, however, 
I found that it was true, and I never came across these 
pathetic circles in our rides or in hunting without a 
sentiment of deepest sympathy for the anxious mother 
whose vigilance kept up the ceaseless tramp during the 
long night. 

The calf is born with wonderful strength and vitali- 
ty, and soon does remarkable feats in marching. lie is 
quite a big fellow in a year, but keeps on growing un- 
til he is seven. We always waited quietly for develop- 
ments, and could not resist the temptation to let the 
stranger try, when a guest said, " I shall begin on the 
first day's hunt with a calf, for practice." He never 
tried again, for a yearling will get over the ground so 
much faster than his elders, which weigh perhaj^s eight 
hundred pounds, that one chase after him is enough to 
decide the novice to keep to the larger animals if he 
hopes to bring down game. Before the war, when our 
officers were on the march to New Mexico, they used 
to pass a ranch kept by two men. Booth and Allison, 
at Walnut Creek, on the Santa Fe trail. The ranch- 
men had devised a plan to capture buffalo calves which 
seems inhuman, but is nevertheless true, as an old cam- 
paigner told me of it. When a herd of buffaloes passed 
near the ranch, the cows travelling slowly on account of 
their young, the buffalo bulls guarding their families, 



184: FOLLOAVING THE GUIDON. 

the Imnters rode suddenly into the herd, caught a young 
calf by the tail, whirled it round two or three times un- 
til the little thing had not only lost its bearings but its 
mother also, and there never was the slightest difficulty 
in driving the calf back to the ranch, where it grew up 
with the domestic cattle. 

The spring and activity of the largest buffaloes are 
marvellous. One day General Custer, returning from a 
hunt, called me to the tent-fly to see his favorite horse 
Dandy. He was so quick, strong, and intelligent that 
he was accounted as good a buffalo-horse as there was in 
the reo:iment. General Custer said that he was so am- 
bitious that as soon as he saw which animal was singled 
out for pursuit he bent every nerve to the work. When 
the game became angry Dandy grew more wary, and, 
leaping to the right and left to escape the butting horns, 
he carried his master so near that the side of the buffa- 
lo was almost rubbed in passing. Dandy knew that the 
only way to bring an animal down Avas by sending the 
fatal shot behind the fore-shoulder, so he darted for the 
side, plunged off at a tangent when the animal wheeled, 
gathered and sprang for the unguarded quarter, and his 
master had to exercise vigilance lest through the ani- 
mal's ambition both he and Dandy sliould be impaled 
on the wicked horns of the adversary. The bridle did 
not need to be touched, so clever was the horse in get- 
ting into favorable position for firing. 

One day, however — there always comes a " one day " 
in all stories of adventure — Dandy pursued a buffalo 
down the side of a ravine, where the footing was inse- 




!i'7!!iii!ll!!«i:'i;'7ri^l^OTfil!ii1 



^^yaiiiiiiiiiiiffijiiiiiii 



HOME OF THE BUFFALO. 185 

cure and narrow. The furious beast, raging because he 
was followed into what he considered a fastness, sud- 
denly wheeled, and before horse or rider could escape 
or even turn General Custer felt himself poised in air. 
The huge animal had actually lifted both man and beast 
on his strong vicious horns. It was only by Dandy's 
sudden leap to one side, and the coolness of both, that 
General Custer and his favorite gained a place of safe- 
ty, for an enraged buffalo is not a safe animal to en- 
counter, especially with all odds on his side. When I 
came out to the fly, on their return that day. Dandy 
had a hole in his side, where one horn had gored him, 
while the thick felt saddle-cloth was cut through by the 
other. This very narrow escape had no effect on Dan- 
dy's nerves. The very next hunt he recognized the 
animal selected for game, and did not draw breath till 
he had darted up to its side, when he slackened to en- 
able the bullet to be sent home to the vulnerable spot. 
In certain places the cactus-beds were almost con- 
tinuous for miles, and it required great patience to pick 
our way through the thorny route. Dandy could be as 
patient as any horse, if it was necessary, but when soli- 
tary clumps were encountered he made short work and 
leaped them. His master, knowing this little playful- 
ness, was rarely unprepared ; but woe be to the guest 
to whom Dandy was lent as a great favor. He made 
so sudden and unexpected a spring that the rider was 
apt to be quickly seated either on the crupper or astride 
Dandy's neck ; or, worse still, impaled in the very cac- 
tus-bed that Dandy had cleared. 



186 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

The servant of one of our surgeons, a negro of about 
fifteen, bought himself a bucking pony, as he was too 
ambitious to ride any steady-going animah He de- 
lighted in racing his animal in front of the command, 
to show his horsemanship, and being a negro, and droll, 
he was not restrained as much as he perhaps deserved. 
Suddenly he came upon one of the cactus -beds that 
continue for miles, not in masses but in clumps, through 
which a horse can pick his way slowly if left to him- 
self. The darky's pony knew this sort of ground well, 
and was not going to be sent galloping into such a 
snare, so he refused to go, suddenly settled himself on 
his haunches, and sent John over his head, landing him 
squarely on his back in the cactus-bed. The thorns 
fairly pinned the poor fellow's clothes to his flesh. He 
slowly picked himself up, even the liand that he used 
to raise himself being stuck full of thorns, and strug- 
gled to pull off his coat, exclaiming, " Holy Moses, but 
ain't them jaggers !" The doctor thought so, after 
spending two hours extracting the thorns from John's 
lacerated back ; but the pointed lesson made the youth 
wary of racing in future. 

At first the bleaching bones of thousands of buffa- 
loes were rather a melancholy sight to me, but I soon 
became as much accustomed to the ghastly sockets of 
an upturned skull as the field-mouse which ran in and 
out either orifice with food for her nest of little ones in- 
side. All evidences of death are sad to a woman. Tlie 
bones were often verj^ old, for the bone collectors did 
not dare carry on their traffic at that dangerous time; 



HOME OF THE BUFFALO. 187 

and it seemed to me that the sadness of thinking of the 
death of these naturally peaceful creatures was softened, 
as it is when one goes into a very old burying-ground, 
and the crumbling stones, covered with lichen, prove 
that the hearts that once bled for those under the sod 
are themselves at rest beneath some grass-covered spot 
elsewhere. There would be few hunters if women had 
to be the Nimrods. I suppose in a world where wom- 
an reigned there would be little question that, unwill- 
ing to kill anything, in time she w^ould be crowded out 
by the animal kingdom. But the buffaloes were sin- 
gularly pitiful prey to me. They fought terribly when 
brought to bay, but when simply startled by the ene- 
my, they ambled off as if saying, " See here, this place 
is surely big enough for all of us ; we'll get out of the 
way." Then when they were pursued, and the herd 
broke into a frightened stampede, my heart was wrung 
with sympathy, especially if I chanced to spy calves. 
I hardly need say how careful the officers were not to 
shoot the cows. The reverence for motherhood is an 
instinct that is seldom absent from educated men. Be- 
sides, I know too many instances in proof of the poet's 
words, "the bravest are the tenderest." Our officers 
taught the coarsest soldier, in time, to regard maternity 
as something sacred. 

It was only by the merest chance that I heard some- 
thing of the gentleness of one of our officers, whose 
brave heart ceased to beat on the battle-field of the 
Little Big Horn. In marching on a scouting expedi- 
tion one day he went in advance a short distance with 



188 FOLLOWING TUE GUIDON. 

his sergeant, and wlien his ten men caught up with 
him he found that they had shot the mothers of some 
young antelopes they had chased. Captain Yates, in 
righteous indignation at this desecration of sacred 
rights, ordered the men to return to the young, and 
each take a baby antelope in his arms and care for it 
until they reached the post. For two days the men 
marched on, bearing the tender little tilings, cushion- 
ing them as best they could in their folded blouses. 
One man had twins to look out for, and as a baby an- 
telope is all legs and head, this squirming collection of 
tiny hoofs and legs stuck out from all sides as the sol- 
dier guided his horse as best he could with one hand, 
the arm of which encircled the bleating little orphans. 

I also heard, only a year or so since, of an incident 
that happened perhaps fifteen years ago. A repre- 
sentative of the press, Mr. Barrows of Boston, was sent 
for scientific purposes with our regiment during the 
summer campaign. He told me that General Custer, 
riding at the head of the column, seeing the nest of a 
meadow-lark, with birdlings in it, in the grass, guided 
his horse around it, and resumed the straight pourse 
again without saying a word or giving a direction. The 
whole command of many hundred cavalrymen made 
the same detour, each detachment coming up to the 
place where the preceding horsemen had turned out, 
and looking down into the nest to find the reason for 
the unusual departure from the straight line of march. 

Our officers' tenderness to children was unceasing. 
One of them, going to the steamer which made its rare 



HOME OF THE BUFFALO. 189 

stops at I ort Lincoln, to meet an aunt lie had not seen 
for a long time, found among the crowd that swarmed 
over tlie narrow guards a frontiersman who was attend- 
ing a child with croup. The mother of the child had 
died a few days before. The little one was dying, ap- 
parently, but, thinking there was time to save its life, 
our Seventh Cavalryman put spurs to his horse, went 
to the post, sought out the doctor, secured medicine, 
wrote a letter to the surgeon at the next post, asking him 
to go to the steamer while it was wooding, and prescribe 
for the child ; he then returned to the boat, giving the 
distressed father the medicine, and not even explaining 
to his aunt why he had left her so summarily. 

But how shall I ever hope to paint the surround- 
ings? How can any one imagine a country where 
there were no apothecaries, no j)hysicians, no nurses 
outside a military post, and where an act of kindness 
so common in the States means the saving of life that 
otherwise would have perished on the isolated frontier? 
I cannot name the instances where officers, unused to 
children, have taught themselves to be helpful when 
the overtaxed mother, the wife of his comrade, needed 
help with an ill child. Those gallant men, walking the 
floor with a peevish baby, had not one moment's thought 
of whether they presented a ridiculous appearance or 
not. 

And when they tamed their fiery charger to a walk, 
and took the little boy of a friend in front of them on 
the saddle, suiting the gait of the animal to the soft 
wabbling of the fat little body and legs, there was no 



190 FOLLOWING THE GriDON. 

turning in fear to notice a smile of derision in the cor- 
ner of any scoffer's mouth. On one of the through 
trains I knew an officer to offer, soon after he left Chi- 
cago, to get warm milk at the stations for a fellow-trav- 
eller whom he did not know, a poor woman with two 
little children, and until they reached the Pacific coast 
he kept this up three times a day. The Pacific road was 
then new, and the journey was not made in the few 
days that it occupies at present. No amount of comic 
speeches from his brother officers at the figure he cut 
as milkman with his tin cups moved him to forsake 
his mission. 

When we were first in Kansas women had never, to 
any one's knowledge, been taken on buffalo-hunts, and 
our officers determined to begin. General Miles, who 
commanded Fort Haj^s, and General Custer, who were 
most congenial friends, loving hunting next to their 
profession, determined to take their wives. It was an 
extraordinary privilege, for we were undoubtedly in the 
way, and it required a good deal of planning to arrange 
for us, and see that we were protected with an escort 
while the officers made the charge into the herd. As I 
remember what an amount of bother it was for them, 
I do not think, in common parlance, it " paid " to take 
us along, but it was a very great pleasure to us. From 
the very first I was not permitted to ride on horseback. 
The country was so full of prairie-dog and gopher holes 
that the best and surest-footed horse was apt to stum- 
ble, and sometimes even break a leg when the honey- 
combed earth gave way suddenly, and let him into the 



HOME OF THE BUFFALO. 191 

subterranean liomes of the little burrowing animals. It 
was difficult to ride full tilt over the trails the buffaloes 
made to the streams, for the earth was baked hard by 
the water that had gathered and dried in these narrow 
trenches. The bujffalo-wallow w\as another serious ob- 
stacle to rapid riding. There again the hard surface 
of the sun-baked rim to this basin did not give under 
the flying hoofs of a running horse. Unless they were 
seen in time to go round them — for they were from ten 
to fifteen feet in circumference — it was a sudden and 
dangerous slackening of speed to leap into the depres- 
sion and spring out again. All the muscles of the 
officers' lithe bodies were free to resist such sudden 
plunges, while one half of us was as useless as if para- 
lyzed as we clung to the side of the horse. There were 
no limits to w4iat we contended we could have done 
if it had been the custom for us to ride as they did. 
Fortunately for us, our boasts were never put to the 
test, and thus our reputations as horsewomen were not 
imperilled. 

The officers considered all these dangers, and dis- 
suaded us from riding. Our coachman drove so well, 
and entered so into the spirit of the hour, that I was 
often in at the death, though living a lifetime of fear 
in getting there. He had strong horses, and he espe- 
cially prepared the stout Government harness, which 
was always of the best material, before a hunt, and ex- 
amined the wagon-springs carefully. General Custer 
rode by the carriage until they struck the herd, and 
then, giving Henry orders to follow slowly, off went 



192 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

the gay riders. Henry, true to liis orders, drove slowly 
for a time over divide after divide until the chase 
began to be spirited, and then, forgetting the wagon- 
break, forgetting his orders, oblivious of everything 
except the vanishing herd, he urged his steeds on and 
on until they broke into a gallop. Henry rose to his 
feet to urge them forward, and flourishing his whip, 
we tore over the country at a real breakneck speed. I 
cowered on the back seat with fear, and of course I 
remonstrated. Henry argued, his eyes eagerly watch- 
ing the horsemen. Finally I implored, and said, " Oh, 
don't, donH^ Henry ; we'll go to pieces, I'm sure !" 
With his kindly voice, talking to me as he would to a 
scared child, he would reply, " There ain't no kind of 
danger. Miss Libbie ; I'll take keer of you ; you jest 
wait till I get to see 'em from the top of that next 
divide, and I'll stop." 

With all our experience, w^e, officers and all, lived 
day after day with the delusion that "the top of the 
next divide" would reveal us some sight, and wave 
after wave of land swept on without discovering any- 
thing but the ever-deluding knoll beyond the gentle 
undulation into which we descended. So Henry fol- 
lowed with all the speed he could get out of his horses, 
telling me, " The next divide. Miss Libbie, we's sho' to 
see 'em." 

How he managed to guide his excited horses with- 
out accident around the wallows, through the prairie- 
dog villages, and to twist through the cactus -beds, to 
descend the gullies, and to jerk the wagon up the as- 



HOME OF THE BUFFALO. 193 

cendiiig knoll, was of course an unsolved mystery. The 
wagon creaked out an occasional protest, the harness 
snapped threateningly, but on we flew in safety. Ev- 
erything rattled and clattered and banged as we tore 
over the prairie, but the ambitious Jehu, with every 
faith in his horses and harness, chuckled with delio-ht. 
Finally we would begin to overtake the hunters, 
and at last, as the successful sportsmen were dismount- 
ing to cut up the game, Henry, triumphant and beam- 
ing, drove his galloping, panting, foam-flecked horses 
into the circle, and a shout of laughter went up from 
the hunters at the very idea of chasing buffaloes in a 
carriage. 
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CHAPTER XIV. 

FIRST WOMEN TO HUNT BUFFALOES. 

Henry did not drive us on the hunt when we wom- 
en were taken for the first time. We had an ambu- 
lance fitted up as a travelling -wagon, with the seats 
across instead of lengthwise, as in the regulation am- 
bulance. Under the rear axle hung the keg of water, 
and under the front was suspended the bucket for the 
animals. There were four mules, and the whole estab- 
lishment, from the rack for luncheon-hampers, at the 
rear, to the farthermost tip of the lead-mules' ears, was 
a long-drawn-out affair, and as we halted in front of 
the commanding ofiicer's quarters at Fort Hays we cast 
a lengthened shadow on the burning sand of the al- 
most bare parade-ground. 

The driver, a faithful soldier, had his carbine by his 
side and his cartridge-belt buckled around his waist. 



FIRST WOMEN TO HUNT BUFFALOES. 195 

These ominous preparations for a pleasure-party made 
me shudder a little, while the detachment of cavalry 
waiting outside the post, with jingling spurs, rattling 
arms, and impatient, stamping horses, suggested further 
precaution, and added still more to my fears. The 
escort was unusually large, as the unfortunate shoot- 
ing of the Indian chiefs in the corral was too recent an 
event not to make the officers realize the necessity for 
caution. It was impossible to communicate with the 
liostiles and explain this catastrophe, and no one knew 
at what moment a band of warriors, intent on revenge, 
would start out from a ravine and attack any one 
venturing outside the post. 

I was not the only one of the four women who 
were so honored as to be taken along who trembled 
at these warlike preparations, for Mrs. Miles, then a 
bride, and having her first experience of the plains, 
watched her husband anxiously as he rode about giv- 
ing final directions, and would gladly have urged him 
to drive with us, thus striving to secure his safety, had 
she hoped to dislodge a born cavalryman from his seat 
in the saddle that he so loved, and that he filled so 
well. General Miles had been a cavalry officer during 
the war, and though at that time an infantry colonel, 
he took to this mounted pleasuring as naturally as if 
leading a charge. When the officers declared that all 
was ready the bugle sounded, the impatient horses 
started, and the little cavalcade was, after many de- 
lays, set in motion. There was an ambulance at the 
rear, and that was another rather gloomy accompani- 



196 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

ment of a laughing, singing, rollicking hunting party. 
It was considered necessary, however ; for, though the 
accidents were never serious, there was rarely a hunt 
in which some one was not hurt. 

Our progress to the part of the plains where the buf- 
faloes grazed was slow, as all the officers tried to save 
their horses until the actual cliase began. The only 
variety for some miles was the sudden darting off of 
the dogs in pursuit of the jack-rabbits that lifted their 
fawn-like heads above the tufts of grass where they had 
been nibbling, and then shot over the plain in terrified 
haste. AVe were so much in sympathy with the little 
creatures that we did not share the sportsman's disap- 
pointment when they succeeded in getting so great a 
start of the dogs that they were soon too dim a speck 
on the prairie to be discernible. The officers occasion- 
ally came riding back from the advance to chat with 
us ; but through all the day the doctor, who had con- 
stituted himself our escort, never left us. He rode a 
cumbersome gray, and he himself, having started out 
in his military career with over six feet of person one 
way, was busy with good dinners getting himself into 
condition to measure that much the other, and the cir- 
cumference he had acquired made him anything bat a 
light weight or a typical cavalryman. 

All the novelty of the occasion, the soft air of the 
plains, deliciously pure and exhilarating, the rare sen- 
sation when we looked about us and saw the entire 
horizon with " the sky fitting close down all around," 
as our officers expressed it, did not banish from my 



FIRST WOMEN TO HUNT BUFFALOES. 197 

mind the dread of the Indian. Every tuft of grass, or 
sage-bush, or dump of cactus, silhouetted against the 
sky seemed to sway slowly as if a human being were 
hiding behind the low barricade. As one rides or 
drives with cavalry the least diversion seems to trem- 
ble along through the column and reach you in a doz- 
en mute ways. The sudden rattle of steel or accoutre- 
ments as the rider turns slightly in the saddle, the short, 
low ejaculation of the troopers, the horses' ears starting 
from a listless droop into alert erectness, the click of 
the hoof evidencing a change in gait — all these simple 
signals reached me, and before a word was spoken my 
heart pounded a wild tattoo on my ribs, and to solve 
the mystery my eyes quickly scanned the great circle 
bounding the sky. Perhaps a herd of antelopes stood 
transfixed by curiosity as we were discovered approach- 
ing ; possibly a deer, taking fright for himself and the 
pretty doe and fawn, sprang off with marvellous bounds 
to lead the way to securer haunts. The ever-vigilant 
eyes of a terrified woman soon have a whole collection 
of small signs that telegraph to her quick sensibilities 
the possibility of danger. If in description of the tri- 
fles that produce this tremor of almost impercejDtible 
excitement through a cavalry column Longfellow had 
framed a line such as he wrote for the ship — " She feels 
a thrill of life along her keel" — it would have saved 
much prose which cannot even clumsily portray the 
momentary precursor of disturbance that pervades a 
body of horsemen. When the disturbing object pre- 
sents itself, then the voices are outspoken, and after 



198 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

the mystery is solved the column resumes its even gait 
of four miles an hour. 

After several of tliese slight interruptions, which 
gave me, nevertheless, a start of agitation, finally there 
came something that even the troopers watched with 
suspense. Human beings, whether white or red men, 
were seen far away to our left. The command was 
instantly halted, and the officers consulted together. 
We were too far at the rear to hear a word of the dis- 
cussion. All eyes were turned to the left. Our lead- 
mules' ears began to express excitement as their eyes 
descried the distant figures. The driver, trying not to 
let us see him, quietly freed his carbine from the reins 
and litter that had been tossed on the front seat. The 
doctor instinctively put his hand to his belt and tug- 
ged at his pistol, which, uncomfortable at being jos- 
tled about his broad proportions, had settled itself in 
the small of his back. The officers rode back to us 
in a few moments, and St. Peter recorded another of 
those fibs of which he has such a list laid up against 
officers who tell women " there is not the slightest dan- 
ger." I had then been married several years, and this 
assertion, that I had heard so often, had no effect in 
calming me. 

General Miles and General Custer determined to ride 
on and investigate, and an Irish officer, a reckless rider, 
begged to accompany them. Both officers had field- 
glasses, but the distance was too great to discover any- 
thing definite. The Irishman's horse was like himself, 
and plunged on in advance at headlong speed ; Gener- 



FIRST WOMEN TO HUNT BUFFALOES. 199 

al Miles and General Caster were mounted on animals 
that combined other traits even more desirable in buf- 
falo-hunting — tenacity of will and strength. As the 
horseman in advance dashed on precipitately, the fig- 
ures we were watching so closely began to ride in a 
circle. Still, though this, all over the plains, was the 
established signal for a parley, we knew that Indians 
had sometimes used it as a ruse to decoy the white man 
into their power. When the daring captain was near 
enough to speak to them, we saw him turn and ride 
back ; and as we gazed through our opera-glasses, which 
we found aided us even then, it was with intense re- 
lief that we saw the circle-riding given up, and the 
captain's own pace become more moderate. The horse- 
men proved to be herders looking for their mules, and 
seeing our little cavalcade, they were as much frighten- 
ed as we were, and only too glad to be relieved of their 
terrors. 

Finally, after the beautiful cool morning merged into 
the warmth of noon, and the quivering heat over the 
scorching ground made us feel thirsty, and sigh for a 
murmuring stream, it was decided that our pursuit of 
game could go on more actively if the inner man were 
fortified. We might look in vain for a tree, or for a 
brook, or even a pool : there was no shade except a very 
narrow strip beside the wagon, for the sun was still al- 
most above us. The water in the kegs was not im- 
proved by the constant swinging that had been kept 
up with the motion of the wagon ; the " cold " tea and 
coffee were lukewarm, but what did we care ? I wish 



200 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

that I could see such sparkling eyes, such devouring 
appetites, such enthusiastic diners at Delmonico's, as 
were gathered about the luncheon-baskets on that glo- 
rious summer day. Every one had contributed some- 
thing, and the jumble was amusing ; but when we had 
finished there was scarcely enough left to give the 
driver a taste of each of the viands to add to his hard- 
tack, pork, and the tepid water in his canteen. Tlie dogs 
sat around the outside of the circle, disputing, as usual, 
with their hungry eyes every mouthful we took, and 
jumping for the bones that were tossed them. Then 
the two generals poured from the keg containing the 
only water we might see during the entire day, a little 
for each hound, and in return got an affectionate lick 
from the rough but loving tongues, and a gambol of 
grateful delight as they sprang off for the march. 

Coming to a stream, we found the column suddenly 
halted, and our heads were instantly out of the side of 
the wagon to see what could be the matter. The doc- 
tor soon came hurrying back to say that the j^assage 
was disputed by a small but well-armed foe, and added 
that " as soon as that essence-peddler saw fit to move 
on, the major-general commanding would issue his or- 
der to march." It was rather laughable to have a 
whole command held at bay by one small animal. 

Not long after we had started again there was a 
shout from the head of tlie column, and on came to us 
the word " Buffaloes !" It conveyed to me another trem- 
or of agitation. I am ashamed to confess that I was even 
afraid of buffaloes. I had not then seen them, for. 



FIRST AVOMEN TO HUNT BUFFALOES. 201 

tliongh in previous cliaj^ters reference may have been 
made to them, the aUnsions were to the events of the 
summer. These great black blotches against the fault- 
less sky were my introduction to the American buffalo. 
They loomed up like elephants to my scared vision. I 
thought at that time that they combined the ferocity 
of the tiger with the strength of the lion. I had no 
idea how peaceful they reall}^ were if let alone. The 
soldiers who had gone in advance, and who had inform- 
ed us by riding in a circle (a preconcerted signal) that 
buffaloes were ahead, now joined the column, and a halt 
was called to prepare for the chase. The doctor and a 
few men were to remain as our escort, while we fol- 
lowed slowly. 

There was no particular care as to the dress of the 
hunters, and officers and enlisted men took every lati- 
tude in the matter of costume. The legs of a cavalry- 
man are usually well cared for ; his corduroy or buck- 
skin breeches are an excellent fit, and his troop-boots, 
coming to the knee, set off a shapely thigh. A flannel 
shirt, with the loose collar confined by a soft tie, was 
especially becoming to those bronzed men. The sol- 
diers were nondescript in their dress. There was a pre- 
vailing tint of army blue throughout ; but there were 
picturesque patches, and the gaudy shirts bought from 
the army sutler seemed an appropriate costume for 
their fine muscular forms. Every sort of close cap and 
hat appeared, for nothing broad in the brim could with- 
stand the furious speed with which they rode against 
the wind. It was impossible for women to make toi- 



202 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

lets on such an occasion. We simply looked up the 
strongest garments we had, for the rough riding, the 
constant clambering in and out of the carriage, the ab- 
sence of any protection to our clothes when we halted 
and sat on the ground for luncheon or to rest, made 
havoc with anything good. 

Our opera-glasses looked just a little "frilly" in 
such a place, but they were really useful. It struck 
us as rather odd, when taking them from their velvet 
cases on the barren desert of a plain, to contrast our 
surroundings with the last place where they were used. 
The brilliantly lighted opera-house, the air scented with 
hot-house flowers, the rich costumes of the women, the 
faultlessly dressed men, the studied conventionality of 
the calmly listening audience, hearing ravishing music 
unmoved — all these recollections presented a scene 
about as different from that on the plains as can be im- 
agined. Here we were, after all that glimpse of lux- 
urious life, rolling over the arid desert, breathing with 
joy the intoxicating air, and going into ecstasies over 
everything, even over the one flower the hot summer 
had spared — the soapwort with its scentless blossom, 
its dagger-like leaves, and its prosaic root, which was 
really used as a substitute for soap. 

As soon as the men dismounted every soldier began 
to examine his girth, bit, bridle, stirrups, and fire-arms, 
to buckle his carbine-belt, and fasten on his hat. The 
little company of troopers was told off into detach- 
ments, and directed to approach the herd to leeward, 
so that the quick nostrils of the buffalo picket might 



i 



FIRST WOMEN TO HUNT BUFFALOES. 203 

not sniff danger. There were only murmuring voices — 
no loud talking was allowed — and the merriment which 
rarely leaves the happy-go-lucky trooper was momen- 
tarily suppressed. Some took off their caps, and tied 
them, with their blouses, to the saddle ; other super- 
fluous articles were strapped down so as not to make a 
sound. Then, with a low signal, they all gave rein to 
their already excited horses, and dashed up from the 
little divide in which these preparations had gone on, 
and were off like a flash. The buffaloes, finally startled 
by the noise of the hoofs of the advancing steeds, 
awakened from their lazy, stupid browsing, started 
their cumbrous gait, and made over the country far 
more rapidly than any one would imagine possible 
in view of their enormous size. Soon our men were 
among the herd, singling out the especial buffalo they 
wished to kill ; and with our glasses we saw tliem for 
some time, but at last a divide hid pursuers and pur- 
sued. 

After a time Colonel Tom was discovered riding tow- 
ards us. He brought the news that his brother had 
wounded a buffalo, and waited for us before he put 
in the death-shot. We were guided to the spot, and 
found a huge beast pawing the ground, his short tail 
waving defiance and rage, his bloodshot eyes glittering 
from beneath the thick mat of bushy hair on his fore- 
head, his horns ripping up the sod. As the officers 
darted up to him he plunged forward to gore their 
horses, and failing, dug his hoofs in the soil and tore 
up the earth, throwing the dust about him in his fury. 



204 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

It was a repetition of the Spanish bnll-fight with the 
matadore for a few brief moments ; but the telling 
shot was soon sent, and the great animal's tongue hung 
out helplessly, his nostrils bled as he rolled over, shook 
his huge frame, and struggled no more. We left the 
carriage in order to view him on all sides ; and while we 
used up adjectives in the most reckless manner trying 
to find language fitting to describe our surprise at the 
size of the monster, we suddenly heard a scream, and 
found that General Custer had cauglit up the young 
lady of the party and set her down on the huge carcass 
of the dead game. She cried out in terror, but was firm- 
ly held there, and told to take the knife and cut a tuft 
from the buffalo's head as a trophy. Iler hands trem- 
bled so much that Colonel Tom had to do the work, 
and then his brother laughingly handed the tuft to the 
temporarily enthroned queen of the hunt, telling her, 
with a droll twinkle of the eye, to take it to her sister 
with his compliments, and say that it was snatched 
from the head of a certain woman whom we knew that 
she desjDised. The brush was given to another one 
of us, and lochs of hair secured for others ; then we 
returned to the carriage while the buffalo was being 
cut up. It required much dexterity to take out the 
tongue. I know that our officers did some awkward 
hacking before they learned from a scout that it is 
skill and experience that are necessary. The rump- 
steaks were easily removed, and then the soldiers cut 
where they chose, and strung the meat to their sad- 
dles. It was a great privilege to the enlisted man to 



FIRST WOMEN TO HUNT BUFFALOES. 205 

get this salutaiy change from his ration- of salt pork 
to fresh meat. 

We were placed again in the carriage, the liorsemen 
monnted, and the hunt was resumed. Finally we came 
to the edge of a cliff, and our carriage halted to find a 
safe descent. The officers and soldiers descended care- 
fnlly, while the buffaloes seemed to go down head-first, 
but gathered themselves quickly, and started off so 
rapidly that they gained considerably on the riders, 
who had to take more time in getting again to the 
comparatively level ground. From our rather elevated 
position we had a fine view of the chase, and began 
to enjoy it all as we found what daring and splendid 
horsemanshij) was exhibited without accident. The 
manner in which the soldiers and officers rode was 
alone worth our trouble in coming as spectators. On 
our ordinary daily rides, or on the hunts after jack- 
rabbits or wolves, or even antelopes, there was not 



* The Ration (Par. 1367, Army Regulations). — A ration is the 
established daily allowance of food for one person. As now fixed, 
its components are as follows : 

Twelve ounces of pork or bacon or canned beef (fresh or corn- 
ed), or one pound and four ounces of fresh beef, or twenty-two 
ounces of salt beef; eighteen ounces of soft bread or flour, or six- 
teen ounces of hard bread, or one pound and four ounces of corn- 
meal ; and to have, ever}^ one hundred rations, fifteen pounds of 
pease or beans, or ten pounds of rice or hominy; ten pounds of 
green coffee, or eight of roasted (or roasted and ground) coffee, or 
two pounds of tea; fifteen pounds of sugar, four quarts of vinegar; 
four pounds of soap, four pounds of salt; four ounces of pepper; 
one pound and eight ounces of adamantine or star candles; and 
to troops in the field, when necessary, four pounds of yeast-pow- 
der to one hundred rations of flour. 



206 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

much opportunity for us to see the remarkable intelli- 
gence of some of the best horses, or have an exhibition 
of the superb equestrian ship of a wild charge into a 
herd of buffaloes. Horse and rider were keyed up to 
such a pitch that not a word, and hardly a touch of 
the bridle, much less of a spur, was necessary. With- 
out any guiding, the intelligent beast swung one mo- 
ment into a graceful semicircle as he avoided the buf- 
falo-wallow, hardly slackening his speed, or sprang with 
a pov/erful leap over a bunch of cactus, or made his 
tortuous way through the prairie-dog village, planting 
his hoofs with such unerring precision, it seemed in- 
credible in view of the s^eed kept up. Then, when 
the one animal singled out as game was reached, the 
speed of the steed slackened, and a series of tactics 
w^orthy of a trained circus-horse began. The sudden 
rearing, and the quick backing in retreat to avoid the 
threatening horns, the dash forward beside the beast, 
the leaping to one side on all fours when the buffalo 
made a charge, were movements repeated with won- 
derful agility. 

All amateurs fired at a buffalo's head, but the largest 
bullets made no impression on the thick skull. The 
animal shook his huge head as if dislodging a fly when 
a shot struck him in the face, or perhaps he paid no at- 
tention at all to the leaden hail as the bullets glanced 
off him as from an iron-clad. 

With all the quick veering from side to side, the 
rapid wheeling to get out of the way, the rider, with 
body swaying at every movement of the horse, met 



FIRST WOMEN TO HUNT BUFFALOES. 207 

each new change of gait, each fresh impulse of the 
vigilant animal, as if man and beast were one. In all 
these evolutions, so quickly and skilfully effected, the 
rider was able to load the poor liunted beast with lead in 
aiming for the telling spot, giving scarcely a thought 
to his horse. It goes without saying that our officers 
were good shots ; but it was no easy affair to get a 
bullet just outside the edge of the great mass of tan- 
gled woolly hair that was packed so densely around 
the luige head. I remember one buffalo into which 
forty shots had been fired, and yet, with liis hide thus 
perforated with bullets, he fought with desperation, 
even with his tongue hanging out, the unerring signal 
of fast-coming death. 

One of the sights of the day, and one to remember 
for many a long day afterwards, was a contest with a 
buffalo which General Miles and General Custer had 
singled out of the herd and driven to bay. The ex- 
asperated animal made a furious fight, his great eye- 
balls red and glittering with rage, his huge head thrust 
downward as he hurled himself first at one officer who 
rode at him on one side, and then suddenly wheeling, 
he made desperate lunges towards the other when the 
hunter's temerity brought him too near. These lithe 
young men, without an ounce of superfluous flesh, 
with their bright eyes dancing with excitement, their 
fair hair flying, their throats bared and throbbing with 
the hot blood that rushed through their veins, their 
muscles steeled to the absorbing work before them, 
made such pictures of vigorous manhood that are not 



208 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

soon effaced from the camera of the mind. They 
thrust their feet out of the stirrups, and held them- 
selves in place by their powerful and pliable legs ; and 
as neither weighed over one hundred and sixty pounds, 
they knew how to sit their horses lightly, and so favor 
the nervous, active animals under them. 

It was something to occupy every energy, and keep 
even young and agile men vigilant, when the colossal 
animal suddenly wakened out of the usual dull lethargy 
of his humdrum life into the ferocity of rage. Had not 
the horses been so attuned to their riders, and so one 
with them in the excitement of the chase, one of the 
wildly tossing horns of the beast would liave been thrust 
into the side from which such persistent aim was taken. 
The hunters trusted to their faithful steeds, and believed 
that they would take care of themselves as well as of 
their riders. The bridle was scarcely touched, and as 
the horses whirled first to one side and then to the other, 
the swaying supple forms of the athletic riders followed 
instinctively every motion of their steeds. Sometimes 
one of the horses sprang back almost upon his haunches 
in his struggle to retreat from the threatening head of 
the foe. Tlien, had not the skilful horseman, poised 
so lightly in the saddle as he was, been quick to dig 
his muscular legs into the horse's sides, and had not the 
bridle been loosely held so that there was not the least 
pull on the animal's mouth, there would surely have 
been a heap of tumbled-up and prostrate humanity 
floundering in the soil, and sending up a cloud equal to 
that which the hoofs of the great fierce monster threw 



FIRST WOMEN TO HUNT BUFFALOES. 209 

into the air at every lunge of liis enormous body. E"o 
one can conceive what marvellous activity was exhib- 
ited by these great creatures weighing eight hundred 
pounds, and cumbered as they were with a thick matted 
coat of hair about the head and shoulders, which alone 
seemed enough to retard their celerity. 

As this battle was being waged by these two deter- 
mined men with an equally resolute foe, they firing the 
pistols held constantly cocked and aimed at the fore- 
shoulder of the buffalo, there was still a fourth assail- 
ant in the fray. A large and courageous dog had 
separated himself from the pack and followed the 
hunters. He began a series of attacks on the buffalo's 
hind-legs, his instinct pointing out, if not the vulner- 
able point, still one that was likely to ])vovq a telling 
one on the animal's nerves and temper. 

At last the frantic beast, coming just short of gor- 
ing the horses that darted before him, condescended to 
bend his huge head lower, and while the dog leaped to 
secure another hold on the flying legs, the ponderous 
creature wheeled, and was for once too quick for the 
poor canine. He tossed him thirty feet in the air, and 
when the daring dog descended to the upturned turf it 
seemed as if his last yelp of pain was sounding. 

But whatever crunching of bones went on in his 
terrible tumble, those of his legs were still intact, for 
he rose to his feet, dragged his tail between his legs, 
and started with a limp and a howl for home, possibly 
twenty miles away over a country without landmarks. 

Still the buffalo fought on, his short, tufted tail, that 
U 



210 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

usually hangs so limj:), raised in air and waving de- 
fiance. The blood at last trickled from his nostrils, 
one front-leg went under, and with a mighty crash 
down came the conquered foe, floundering and wallow- 
ing in the loosened soil, yielding reluctantly to the 
bullet that had pierced his side. 

As we women watched this panorama spread at our 
feet we were filled with alarm, and trembling with 
anxiety one moment, triumphant and delighted with 
the horsemanship the next. Several buffaloes in differ- 
ent parts of the field were down, and we began to hope 
that the set of instruments one of the younger sur- 
geons had carelessly exposed, and which had given us 
shudders when we started, would lie in their case undis- 
turbed. This hope was suddenly dissipated when we 
saw one of the riders plunge over his horse's head, and 
lie motionless on the ground. There were three wom- 
en who could not breathe except in gasps for a few mo- 
ments, and the unmarried woman, in deep sympatliy, 
strained her eyes to see if the wounded man could 
not be identified. Our gallant escort, the doctor, pity- 
ing the suspense of those who feared the prostrate man 
was the one of all the world to them, rode forward and 
soon brought us news. A sergeant's horse, getting his 
foot into a prairie-dog hole, had thrown him. The 
ofiicers and soldiers gathered about the j^rostrate man, 
who almost instantly sprang to his feet, and declared 
liimself " all right " with only his arm sprained, he 
thought. The young surgeon was only too proud to 
produce the instrument-case, so odious to us in the 



FIRST WOMEN TO HUNT BUFFALOES. 211 

morning ; but it was no sj^rain. Tlie arm of tlie fine 
fellow was broken, and the surgeon had work to do. 

However, with all his courage, the officers feared the 
man would faint, and there was wild riding about to 
see if among the hunters there was any whiskey. The 
young follower of Esculapius, familiarly called " Little 
Pills," had all the apparatus to cut up his patients, but 
nothing to resuscitate them afterwards. Finally, after 
a fruitless search among the officers, the orderly rode 
on to our carriage to give the doctor's compliments, 
and ask if the ladies had any whiskey. There was just 
a momentary smile awakened, but a real round laugh 
came from three throats when one of us asked to look 
under the carriage seat, where the wraps and extra 
necessaries were kept, and from a bag a little flask was 
quietly brought forth. By this time some officers had 
joined us, and deep and long was the peal of laughter 
that they gave, for the woman who produced the whis- 
key was the one of the four who never tasted it, nor 
even had so much as a gill in her house. In a twin- 
kling this little joke spread among the hunters, with 
the following questions : " Who produced the ' need- 
ful V " " Why, who do you suppose ? — Mrs. So-and- 
So !" At sound of the name another shout, and such 
ejaculations as, " Well, I should just as soon have ex- 
pected old Gough himself to have handed out a flask 
from his pocket !" and it was in vain that the woman 
protested that she had "feared accidents." When mer- 
ry people want to get a joke out of anything it is dif- 
ficult to turn the tide into another channel. 



212 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

Tlie sergeant, tliaiiks to his pluck and to his splen- 
did physical condition, was able to ride back to garri- 
son, and as no one had much heart for further hunt- 
ing, we all turned our faces in the direction in which 
the compass told us our home lay. There was not 
a distinguishing mark in the landscape to guide us. 
The utter monotony of the plains prevents any one 
from attempting to be a path-finder ; and sometimes a 
boastful one among us, proud of his bump of locality, 
attempted to find his way, but travelled in a circle in- 
variably as the lost traveller has always done. Soon 
the stars came out to light and guide us onward, and 
at ten o'clock we entered the camp, chaffing, singing, 
and chattering in spite of fatigue. 



$itc Blarm. 



JiJI^Bifeg^ ^ ^Sip^ 



Fire I fire ! 



fire I fire I 



Fire I . 



fire ! fire ! fire I 



m ^^^% 




^^^^^^ 





fire ! Go get your buckets, get your buckets, Get your buck-ets, 



V — :: — ^— ^ — '- — "^L^ ^ - --r_tZ-: 

soldiers ; Get your buckets, get your buckets, Get your buckets, all. 



CHAPTER XY. 



HUNTING RECORDS. 



The summer on Big Creek was not an idle one for 
our regiment, thougli the village of white canvas seem- 
ed to nestle so peacefully in the bend of the sinuous 
stream. The tents represented many hundred men, 
and always gave that impression to marauding Ind- 
ians, who hover near booty in the shape of horses, even 
if they do not take regularly to the war-path. They 
estimate numbers among themselves by the tepees, al- 
lowing so many warriors to a lodge. But two-thirds 
of our tents were often empty, as two or three scout- 
ing parties might be out at one time. 

There were several young graduates, Avho came from 
West Point that summer, who sighed to make a record, 
hearing every day with envious ears the constant ref- 
erence to the glorious success of the Washita. These 
youths were called '' tads " and " plebes," and treated 



214 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

in a half-contemptuous manner by officers of their own 
age possibly, but whose one successful winter's cam- 
paign lifted them a generation beyond. The exultant 
way in which these youngsters strutted about after- 
wards, when they had been in a fight, and the vaunt- 
ing tone they assumed when they told me no one could 
call them "tads" or "plebes" now, was amusing to 
one who believed that the most delightful paths were 
those of peace. Still there was so much teasing that 
I was inclined always to side with the minority, for 
in the general tormenting I often felt the need of a 
champion myself. No one but these embryo warriors 
sighed for war. It is a mistaken impression that our 
army hailed the anticipation of a fighting campaign 
with delight. The change from their dull life to one 
of variety made our people rejoice at the prospect of 
active duty, but to fight Indians was not their desire. 
The outrages that brought on the winter's campaign 
had fired all hearts with the determination that pun- 
ishment should be inflicted ; but now that peace had 
been established, the whole command believed in doing 
everything to preserve it. I lately came across a tele- 
gram that General Custer sent to General Sheridan 
that summer, which has been preserved only by acci- 
dent, but which bears upon this subject : 

(Confidential.) 

Hays City, Kansas. 
Lieutenant-general Sheridan, Chicago, III. : 

Without delicate handling of the Indian question by per- 
sons of experience in Indian affairs, we are liable to lose all 



HUNTING RECORDS. 215 

benefit of our last winter's campaign, and be plunged into 
another general war with the southern tribes. I think this 
can be avoided. G. A. Custer, 

Brevet Major-General. 

There were parties of northern hostiles in our vicin- 
ity often, and sometimes, had they known how many 
of the tents were empty, it would have been an 
easy affair to have overcome us. The coming or going 
of the scouting parties was a fresh occasion of interest 
every time. It was General Custer's policy to keep 
troops travelling all the summer. Though he did not 
hope to engage the wily red men in open combat while 
their ponies were in sufficiently good condition to en- 
able them to run, still he did not mean to permit them 
to think that our people were not ready for them. 

Sometimes on these scouts the officers and men kill- 
ed enough game to give us all a treat on their return. 
Of all the scouting parties that summer, our brother 
Tom and another officer had the best shooting score. 
On the return to camp they harrowed the rest by de- 
scribing their success. They had had deer, antelope, 
elk, and wild turkey every day; while we had been 
blessed with little besides buffalo-meat, as the cars had 
frightened away the more timid game. They saw two 
different herds of elks which numbered about a hun- 
dred each. They brought in the splendid antlers of 
one, which were six feet in height, and so wide that we 
seemed to have no place large enough to put them. 
Tom said, prosaically, when we w^ere hunting for 
words grand enough to describe them, "Oh, the ani- 



216 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

mal looked as if he had a chair-factorj on his head !" 
Tom was alone when he saw the owner of those branch- 
ing horns. Three elks were approaching him. Jmnp- 
ing from his horse, he tied him to a bush, and shot 
the leader of the three, a noble buck ; the other two 
stopped to look at him, and without changing his posi- 
tion he shot the second. The elks, like the deer and 
antelopes, occasionally make themselves easy prey for 
the hunter, because of their curiosity. I know that 
Colonel Tom let the elks he shot approach, gazing at 
him, till within seventy yards before he took aim. 

In one of General Custer's letters to a friend, whom 
he was trying to persuade to join him in camp, he de- 
scribes some of his own successes : 

I wish that you could have been with me on some of my 
elk-hunts. I killed three in one run of four miles. A party 
of us killed sixteen in one day. At another time, without 
even stirring out of my tracks, I shot, off-hand, three ante- 
lopes the nearest of which was three hundred and twenty 
yards. I aimed each time at a single animal and not at a herd. 
Day before yesterday I saw a fine buck antelope standing 
full front towards me ; I could see only his head and part of 
his neck above the grass. I fired, and dropped him ; the dis- 
tance was two hundred and sixty-seven yards, and the ball 
entered his neck as accurately as if I had been close enough 
to touch it with the muzzle of the gun. You should have 
been with me the day I shot the big buck elsewhere referred 
to in my letter to you. 

After wounding him badly, and having a fine chase after 
him mounted and with the stag-hounds, he took to the river, 
and the dos^s after him. Talk about Landseer's eno^ravino: ! 
I would not give the sight I witnessed that day for all the 



HUNTING KECOEDS. 217 

engravings ever framed. The buck could stand on the bot- 
tom, but the dogs had to swim. One seized him by the ear, 
another by the nose, others were catching at his sides and 
neck, while he was striking right and left, sometimes catch- 
ing a dog and keeping him in the water until I lost all hope 
of ever seeing him alive again. The marks of the dogs' teeth 
are in the buck's ears and along his sides, where they endeav- 
ored to jump up and seize him as he ran. All this time I 
was on the river-bank, within twenty yards of the conflict, 
rifle in hand, and vainly watching an opportunity to put a 
ball in and end the battle and save the lives of my dogs ; but 
so active and mixed up were elk and dogs that for a long 
time I was unable to aim at the elk without at the same 
time covering a dog, until finally all the dogs concentrated 
at and about his head, when I quickly sent a rifle-ball through 
his loins, and thus terminated one of the most excitino^ hunt- 
ing scenes I ever witnessed. I sent back for a wagon, and 
had him carried to camp entire. His photograph was taken 
as he lay in front of my tent, I, in my buckskins, seated on 
the ground near his head. He was about fifteen hands high, 
and his estimated weight, dressed, was eight hundred pounds. 
Fortunately I have learned the principles of taxidermy, and 
I have preserved in splendid order not only the antlers, head, 
and neck, but the skin and hoofs of the entire animal, so that 
it can be mounted as " natural as life." The zoologists ac- 
companying us think it is the finest specimen of the elk any- 
where in the United States. 

On many of General Custer's hunts lie took an Ind- 
ian scont — one of those who came from a friendly tribe 
— to accompany the expeditions, and run a trail, or 
carry despatches back to the posts, or from one offi- 
cer in the field to another commanding an expedi- 
tion. These Indians were sometimes very faithful, and 



218 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

every kindness was shown them. They were like chil- 
dren, full of humors, often sulking for days over im- 
aginary injuries ; but, with patience, much valuable 
service could be had from them. They knew the 
country so well, and were so acquainted with its to- 
pography, that they could take a pointed stick and 
draw an intelligible map in the sand when they tried to 
explain the route our troops wished to take, or the en- 
campment of the hostile Indians. In the picture in 
the frontispiece, a copy of a photograph, General Cus- 
ter is represented holding a map which his celebrated 
scout Bloody Knife is studying, while another scout 
and the half-breed interpreter stand near. It was stu- 
pid work for Bloody Knife to remain about garrison 
when there was no expedition in progress, and he be- 
came as nearly animated as he ever allowed himself 
to be if word were sent for him to go on the hunt, if he 
wished to do so. The good shots of our officers did 
not go unnoticed ; and I remember that Bloody Knife 
entreated General Custer to be cautious when he shot 
his first grizzly bear in the Yellowstone. 

The elks were so much larger than other game that 
the officers often lost their first shots from buck-fever. 
I could readily understand it, for the first one I ever 
saw so startled me that it seemed as if some old fossil 
of the Megatherium period had sprung out of the pet- 
rified earth and taken up life again. The huge animal 
was lying down very near the place selected for our 
camp ; and hearing our voices as we sat on the ground 
waiting for our tents to be pitched, he leaped into the 



HUNTING RECOEDS, 219 

air, and bounded off like a gazelle instead of a beast 
of such proportions. His antlers rose, seemingly, as 
far above his head as his head was from the ground. 
Colonel Tom said it was as large as a large-sized mule. 
With almost as quick a leap as the game, General Cus- 
ter sprang for his rifle, flung himself on an unsaddled 
horse, and sped over the ground after the splendid 
game, but it had too much the start of him, and we 
lost the elk-steak that, in his brief absence, our men 
had begun to count on for their dinner. Elks were rare 
along any route that was travelled ; so that it was an 
immense privilege if, when the officers went off for a 
distance on a scout, or a hunt was planned that took 
us away twenty miles or so, we had the good-fortune 
to include that animal in the game killed. 

It was not an e very-day affair to go hunting, howev- 
er; for, to find buffaloes ift abundance, we were obliged 
to travel some miles, and the knowledge that the north- 
ern Indians were hovering near much of the time 
made it a risk to ride without an escort. Our dogs 
sometimes hunted by themselves when tired of wait- 
ing to be taken out. In one of General Custer's letters 
to the same friend mentioned before, he speaks with 
pride of the ambition which took the hounds off by 
themselves : 

My dogs hunt up and down the creek every day. Last 
night a man living eight miles below here came to camp 
and told rae that four of my dogs — Lufra, Juno, Blucher, and 
Maida — had driven a large buffalo near his ranch, and that he 
had gone to them when he found the buffalo about used up 



220 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

and unable to get away, and that tliey would have killed it 
alone but he finished it with his rifle. They had probably 
been running it for several miles. I call that pretty good 
work for green dogs. I took them with me the other 
day, and it was sport. Juno sprang right at the nose the 
first time she ever saw a buffalo. Lufra took the ear, and 
Blucher got hold of the side. Juno is as savage as a tiger, 
and so is Lufra. 



I do not know that I remember a man with more 
temerity than the ranchman to whom General Custer 
refers. He lived alone, and seemed perfectly insensible 
to fear. His place was a sort of a Mecca to ns. The 
nearest ranch besides his was eighty miles distant, ad- 
joining the town of Ellsworth. To see growing things 
that had been planted and were allowed to advance 
without either being comj^elled to move and leave 
them, as we usually were, or to hear of their destruction 
by the Indians while the first shoots were starting, as 
in the case of hundreds of ranchmen at that time, was 
an event in life ; and I remember how ^' homey " the 
rows of potatoes, the hills of corn, and the climbing 
beans seemed after years without the sight of a garden. 
The man had made himself very comfortable in his dug- 
out in the side of a bank ; and even that I envied, for 
the wind could not toy with his habitation and blow it 
away as it did our " rag houses." I confess to great 
curiosity as to what circumstances in the States had 
been so disastrous as to make him willing to leave every 
one and risk his life down on that lonely creek. Our 
men, with one voice, attributed it to some woman's 



HUNTING RECORDS. 221 

work. "Depend upon it," they said, "lie prefers the 
wilderness to being nagged to death in the States." 
If I suggested tliat he might be a fugitive from jus- 
tice I was silenced by a laughing, teasing retort to 
the effect that some men were more fortunate than 
others: a desert like ours would frighten most wom- 
en, but there were others who could penetrate any 
wilderness and pursue a man into the extremest soli- 
tude. 

One night we were trying to entertain an officer 
from another station, and a ride was our only resource, 
as it was impossible to get up a hunt for some reason, 
I have forgotten what. We started off, a gay, rollick- 
ing party, three women, with perhaps twenty officers, 
and a few orderlies. All the dogs of the regiment 
were with us, apparently — from the lofty and high- 
born stag-hounds down to the little "feist," or mon- 
grel, of the trooper, whose plebeian tail, that usually 
curled over his back, was now drooping, and his sides 
panting with the speed he had to keep up. We laugh- 
ed and sang as we let our horses out, and the college 
choruses or West Point songs rang on the air as clear- 
ly and joyously as if we had been riding down a safe 
country glade at home. Of course, with the unusual 
spectacle of a garden within eight miles of the camp to 
show, we followed the creek, and enjoyed the surprise 
of our guest's face when the domestic turnip and the 
thrifty beet of civilization greeted his sight. This was 
our last ride so far without an escort, for the next day 
news came that the Indians had crossed the stream the 



222 FOLLOWING THE GTHDON. 

night before, burned tlie first stage-station, and killed 
the men in charge. 

Tlie red man has exhibited great awe of telegraph 
lines, believing that there was something supernatural 
in their workings, and for this fortunate reason, in our 
worst border troubles, many a warning was flashed 
along the wires when an attack was even so much as 
anticipated ; but in this instance the lawless band, set- 
ting at defiance superstitious fears, had cut the wire, 
and in torturing the men bits of it had been stuck in 
their flesh beside the arrow that every Indian leaves in 
a dead body, whether it be sent from the bow before 
or after the fatal shot. 

There was one caution that the officers dinned in our 
ears day after day — namely, that we women should nev- 
er leave camp alone even for a stroll. We were usual- 
ly obedient about this, for we felt always that we had 
been brought out on sufferance, as it were. Great trou- 
ble had been taken to prepare for us, and all had been 
done with the understanding that we should not allow 
ourselves to be in the way. These warnings about tlie 
Indians were "line upon line" with General Custer, 
and he had only to refer to the captives I had seen 
soon after their release to elicit promises of caution 
from me. It was due to events like the capture of the 
Box family that the winter's campaign in the Washita 
country had been undertaken. While we were at Fort 
Riley the mother and three daughters were brought to 
the post. Their release had been effected by the tact 
of our oflScers, and by the payment of a large ransom. 



HUNTING RECOEDS. 

At tlie time of tlieir capture a year 23reviouSj tlie 
father aiad one babe were killed at once. The mother 
and her daughters — one a girl of eighteen, another ten, 
and the third three years old — were bound on ponies 
and started on the march. The mother was allowed to 
carry the child still younger, but the infant's crying 
angered the savages, and they dashed its little brains 
out against a tree before the anguished mother's eyes. 
When the division of spoils and prisoners was made, 
the three children and the mother were separated, and 
assigned to different bands of the same tribe. I could 
not find any language to repeat what the poor mother 
and eldest daughter told me of their horrible sufferings 
during the year of their captivity. Their melancholy 
w^as most heart-rending, for even their release from 
captivity would not bring them back to the husband 
and father so dear to them, or put in the maternal 
arms the two little innocent infants that had been 
murdered. 

The little girl of ten, when separated from her moth- 
er, grieved and mourned so that, to stifle her sobs and 
prevent her repeating them, the Indians had burned 
the soles of her feet. She turned them up to show me 
the scars as I sat in the midst of this pitiful group. 
The girl, then nineteen years old, in the captivity which 
was w^orse than death, had lost all trace of girlhood. 
Had she been retained as the property of one chief her 
fate would have been more deplorable than any that a 
w^oman ever endures, but even this misery was inten- 
sified, for she was traded from one chief to another in • 



224 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

the everlasting dickering that the Indians keep up. 
The suffering of these poor captives made a Lasting 
impression on me. I had not been long away from a 
home where my parents not only shielded me from all 
sorrow and trouble, but guarded me from even tales of 
misery which would have made a spot on the sun of a 
most radiant girlhood. 

Still, this story of suffering was not considered 
enough by General Custer to warn me against taking 
any risks wljere Indians roamed. He came to me after 
that, while we were stopping a day or two at the hotel 
in Leavenworth, to ask me to see a distracted man with 
whom he had been talking. When I found that the 
man was almost wild with grief over the capture of 
his wife by Indians, and the murder of his children, I 
begged to be spared witnessing such a painful sight 
when I could do no good. The reply was that sym- 
pathy was something every one needed, and I made 
no further resistance. The man was as nearly a mad- 
man as can be. His eyes wild, frenzied, and sunken 
with grief, his voice weak with suffering, his tear- 
stained, haggard face — all told a terrible tale of what 
he had been and was enduring. He wildly waved his 
arms as he paced the floor like some caged thing, and 
implored General Custer to use his influence to organ- 
ize an expedition to secure the release of his wife. He 
turned to me with trembling tones, describing the re- 
turn to his desolated cabin. As he came from the 
field where he was at work, full of pleasure at ap- 
. preaching the rude hut where he had left his little 



HUNTING RECORDS. 225 

ones playing about the door, he saw no sign of life, no 
movement of any kind ; no little feet ran out to meet 
him, no piping voice called a welcome to him. With 
the darkest forebodings — for those were troublous days 
to the early settler — he began to run, and, near some 
logs, he almost fell upon the dead and mutilated body 
of one child. Not far off was a little shoe, and some 
light liair, evidently torn from the downy head of an- 
other child, and a few steps from the door the two 
younger children lay in pools of blood, their little 
heads scalped, their soft flesh still pierced with arrows. 
Worse by far was the further discovery that awaited 
him. The silence in the cabin told its awful tale, and 
he knew, without entering, that the mother of the lit- 
tle ones had met with the horrible fate which every 
woman in those days considered worse than death. 
General Custer was so moved by this story that he 
could not speak, and I became so unnerved that it was 
many a night before I could shut my eyes without see- 
ing the little yellow heads of those innocent children 
clotted with blood, and their sightless blue eyes turned 
to heaven as if for redress. The lesson was effectual 
for a time, for not only was I moved to deepest pity 
for the bereaved man, but I became so terrified that I 
could not even ride out of camp with an escort with- 
out inward quakings, and every strange or unaccount- 
able speck on the horizon meant to me a lurking foe. 
15 



/iBess. 



-^:z^^=M^^^^;^^^^^^^^W: 



V yi LI 'yi 

Soup - y, eoup - y, soup - y 







Cof - fee, cof - fee, cof - fee 



^ — 

Pork-y, pork-y, pork - y, not a., 



streak of lean. 



CHAPTER XVI, 



ARMY HOUSE-KEEPING. 

I HAVE often been asked questions about house-keep- 
ing on the frontier — how we furnished our quarters, 
what occupations we had, and other similar matters. 
There were no conveniences for house-keeping ; we 
had little furniture, and we women occupied ourselves 
mostly in finding amusement for the men, who looked 
to us for diversion in their leisure hours. In the sum- 
mer, while the regiment was absent on a campaign, our 
lives w^ere occupied with reading and domestic detail 
in order to fill up the time and make it go faster. In 
the winter we tried to vary the monotony of the table 
with all the ingenuity we were capable of, in order to 
make up to our men for the deprivations of the sum- 
mer, when they were on the march. 

Government wastes no money in ornamenting army 



AKMY HOUSE-KEEPING. 227 

quarters. They are severely plain, with plastered walls, 
wood-work that was once painted, perhaps, but bears 
little trace of the brush now. On the plains they were 
usually disfigured by huge stoves, unless one fought, 
as we did, for one room with an open fire. It was very 
hard to give a cosey, home-like look to a sitting-room 
without blinds, with plastered walls, and without an 
open fire. 

The kitchen was the exasperating place. It often 
lacked the simplest contrivances to make work easy. 
I remember an army friend who began her frontier life 
during the Mexican war. She was fearless in stating 
her opinions, and was dreaded by the quartermaster be- 
cause of the determined manner in which she went at 
him when it was necessary to have her house repaired 
or painted. People used to say that he habitually 
went round by the rear of the quarters, trying to avoid 
her, as she often came out on the piazza to intercept 
him. Once, however, I heard him receiving a very 
pronounced expression of her views, and the last word 
sent after him, as he pleaded " pressing business," was, 
"Next time you build army quarters do, in pity's name, 
ask your wife how a kitchen ouglit to be built." 

It really did seem as if whoever planned our kitch- 
ens had never considered for a moment that the 
" women who work from sun to sun, and whose work 
is never done," would be blessed by even the smallest 
effort to lighten their labors. Fortunately our cooks 
were colored women. Army people like the negroes, 
and find a quality of devotion in them that is most 



228 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

grateful wlien one is so dependent on servants, as every 
one is in military life. As the Southern cook is taught 
to live in kitchens built outside, and to cook by a fire- 
place with few modern utensils, we were not distressed 
by "warnings," as we should undoubtedly have been 
had a servant accustomed to an Eastern kitchen been 
consigned to ours. 

The quartermaster's own house was something to 
turn us all green with envy, for he had all the work- 
men at his disposal. It was painted, had closets, with 
little shelves here and there, that women dote on, and 
many trifles that seemed to us the sum and substance 
of domestic elegance, for everything was comparative 
there in those days of deprivation. We women called 
on his pretty, fascinating wife, and loved her in spite 
of her superior environments ; but our roaming eyes 
took in every improvement, and we went out to say, at 
a safe distance, " I don't blame lieVy but I would like 
to read him a lesson on equal distribution." 

There was joy in garrison one morning when a little 
tale of what we considered a case of justice meted out 
came travelling along from one woman to another. It 
was Christmas morning, and though there were no 
chimes to ring us up, no carols to delight our ears, w^e 
felt convivial even over the extra nap with which we 
celebrated the day. The quartermaster, sleeping in his 
comfortable bed, was called out in the gray of early 
dawn, that coldest chill, just before daybreak, striking 
him as he went barefooted through his hall, while his 
heart was beating with alarm for fear of disaster or 



ARMY HOUSE-KEEPING. 229 

fire, as lie answered tlie bell. " Glad he was punished 
for having a bell when we had none," we said, savagely, 
when we heard this. On opening the door a dishev- 
elled tipsy Jezebel of a camp-woman, bracing herself 
against the wood-work as best she could, said to him, 
" It's cold, and my nose bleeds," and with this infor- 
mation she departed. The woman who clamored for 
paint, another who appealed in vain for necessary re- 
pairs, had no compunctions in laughing at this case of 
woman's inhumanity to man, and if we suffered for 
anything after that, we summed up every misery with 
the words, " It's cold, and my nose bleeds." 

There was no sink in the kitchen or outside. The 
cook opened the door and flung the contents of the 
dishpan or garbage bucket as far to one side as the 
vigorous force of her arms would send it. This always 
left an unsightly spot, to which we were compelled to 
shut our eyes, as there was no remedy. The prisoners 
of a post have as their punishment the duty of cutting 
wood and policing the garrison, which means an attempt 
to keep it clean. If they lingered in our yard longer 
than in another, a careful study of the scene revealed the 
fact that the sergeant who guarded them was being re- 
galed with coffee, with the unusual luxury to them of 
condensed milk ; and after the ranking officer (for rank 
tells even that far down in the scale) had feasted, came 
the appeal of the soldiers under him turning hungry 
eyes towards the kitchen, and saying, in a voice that 
was so modulated as to " carry " no farther than was 
necessary, "Say, you wouldn't see a fellow starve?" or 



230 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

" You liain't got none of those fine white biscuit, have 
you?" 

Generally after these healthful, able-bodied men had 
cut a few sticks they wearily sat down and eyed the 
house, waiting for the door to open. They resorted to 
any subterfuge to prolong their stay out of the guard- 
house. There was nothing like it except the crescent 
of dogs that replaced them about the kitchen door, 
whining, and uttering short suggestive barks until our 
Eliza, exasperated beyond control, burst open the door 
and hurled any convenient missile at them, always 
accompanied by invectives anything but flattering to 
their character. 

I ought not to leave the impression that Uncle Sam 
neglected his wards. The prisoners were abundantly 
fed at the guard-house. The army ration is so large 
that few instances have been known where one man 
was able to consume it. Our dogs also were especially 
provided for by us. A huge kettle of mush was boiled 
with meat, bones, and grease ; but they, like the sol- 
diers, preferred what they considered dainties from the 
family table. As for water, it was kept in barrels out- 
side the door. Over the one especially for drinking 
and culinary purposes there was an effort made to keep 
a cover securely fastened down with a convenient stone, 
and this was emptied every day ; but the others were 
open to the winds of heaven, as a board to cover any- 
thing was hardly to be had at all. We had enough 
cotton-wood timber sawed at the Government mill near 
the river ; but should that be used it would warp into 



ARMY HOUSE-KEEflNG. 231 

a curve almost in a day, and the dogs tilting and jog- 
gling it could dislodge such a cover easily. As the 
plains winds are never lulled, all the floating grass, 
leaves, and dust found a resting-place in the water. 
These foreign substances soon offered a home for " wig- 
glers," which in an incredible time were transformed 
into mosquitoes. 

The water was very hard, and it was difficult to make 
a successful Monday without a labor of preparation, 
for there were straining, settling, and softening with 
alum to be done. White of eggs is advised by the 
cook-books ; but, considering that we were not likely 
to get either the yolk or white of an egg to eat for 
months at a time, we were not very likely to waste 
them (when we had them) on the water-barrels. When 
the clothes were finally on the line, then came the 
struggles to keep them there. The wind blew them 
over the prairie if they were not most securely fastened, 
and rarely did Eliza return from the line without talk- 
ing to herself in an ominous way, as the corners of the 
strong table-covers and sheets were whipped into fringe, 
while articles that were becoming tender with age were 
frequently in ribbons. 

On the awful Mondays that we called "black Fri- 
days " we took turns in giving our cook an order, if it 
was absolutely necessary to give her any. It was very 
odd to hear a grown person, the head of the house, per- 
liaps, say, " You tackle Eliza this time, I did the last 
time." 

Once we were stationed in the States for a short 



FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

time, and had great difficulty in getting a house, as there 
were none to rent in the small town, and naturally the 
citizens were averse to moving out in order to lease 
us theirs. Finally an officer on General Custer's staff 
found a place, and as our cook was absent at the time, 
we decided to try co-operative house-keeping, I taking 
charge one week, and the wife of the officer the next. 
"We tried to have every dainty of the market on our 
table. After our long season of enforced frugality on 
the plains, we felt ourselves entitled to all the season 
afforded. We sat round the open fire at night and 
planned new dishes for the next day. We revelled in 
a house fully furnished, for so we had rented it, and 
drew comparisons between it and our army quarters, 
where there were often vacant spaces and yawning gaps 
in place of furniture, to which we never could attain. 
The closets bewildered us, so long had we suffered for 
such conveniences. We lost our things, having so much 
space, and the men said that they owed a debt of grati- 
tude to their government for the privilege of quickly 
finding their coats and pantaloons, which heretofore 
had been hidden under a mass of dresses and petticoats. 
Our friend's cook had lived long on the frontier, for 
she was a soldier's wife, and being out at service with 
the officers, she was accustomed to husband all supplies 
most carefully, not knowing when they would be re- 
placed ; there was in consequence a distressing meagre- 
ness about her dishes, and hardly a suspicion of butter 
in anything she prepared. We requested her to use 
more material, adding that while we had the opportu- 



ARMY HOUSE-KEEPING. 233 

nity we desired to live well, as we never knew at what 
hour we might be ordered out to the frontier, where 
deprivations were the order of the day. The cook, 
quite devoted to our interests, was inclined to protest. 
She replied, "But oh, ma'am, iggs is twenty cints a 
dozen," forgetting that when we did have them in the 
West they cost us seventy-five cents or a dollar. She 
began the new week the same way with both of us, 
and with a doleful countenance exclaimed, after receiv- 
ing her orders, "And have you any idee, ma'am, what 
your mate bill will be this month ?" 

The question of cake and pastry was a momentous 
one. Here we were in a land that seemed to run over 
with milk and honey, or better still for us, where but- 
ter, eggs, and cream were in abundance for delicacies, 
and yet we were very stupid in their use. Living for 
years without these luxuries had either dulled our 
memories as to the method of concocting nice dishes, 
or, beginning our married life so young as we did on 
the plains, we had never known how. Armed with a 
cook-book, we tried experiments, and the men courage- 
ously partook of the results. Being in perfect health, 
they survived the experiments, and, as is usual with 
officers, overrated all we did. At the time of the 
church festivals of the different denominations we 
fared well, and our table was supplied with delicious 
cake made by zealous churchwomen. We all bought 
so much that I remember one occasion when the wom- 
en who were getting up a festival postponed it until 
General Custer returned from duty out of town. 



234: FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

There never seemed to be any way of preparing for 
unexpected guests on the frontier, and yet it was a land 
of surprises. If we were near the railroad we could 
usually count on six trains out of seven bringing us com- 
pany, and if our visitors were thoughtful enough to 
telegraph, some sort of preparation could be made ; but 
were we stationed at a post or encamped in the field 
where the only access to us was by overland travel, 
there could be no warning note. People rode in on 
horseback or drove by wagon at all hours of the day 
and night. Should they prove to be officers who came 
on duty, or en route to some other station, we felt little 
solicitude, for they knew the usages so far away from 
a base of supplies, and could joke about a meagre lar- 
der with us as merrily as if they were not hungry — 
could even quote the old story of an officer who was 
out of supplies but not deficient in hospitality, and 
who invited a friend to a dinner of two dishes ; when 
one, the rice, was declined, he was asked to help him- 
self to the mustard. 

The commissary was nearly always accessible when 
we halted at night on the march, or daily in camp ; but 
there was but one issue of meat for the day, and hav- 
ing eaten the steak for breakfast, it was somewhat em- 
barrassing to have guests arrive, perhaps an hour after- 
wards, and the awful fact pressed upon us that if we 
gave them meat from the roast there would be nothing 
left for their dinner. Even the commanding officer 
had sometimes to be called into the kitchen tent for 
consultation in emergencies, and he fortunately never 



ARMY HOUSE-KEEPING. 235 

felt embarrassed over what was a serious question to 
both Eliza and me. He offered to take the people off to 
see the horses, the camp, the stream on which we lived, 
the bluff beyond, to view the vastness of the plains. 
Then, left to ourselves, we sent round at once to the 
other messes to find if any one had meat, game, eggs, 
or anything cookable. If they failed us, as they gen- 
erally did, for no one had any better facilities for keep- 
ing food than we had, then the commissary ham or 
bacon, often inexpressibly salty and dry, became the 
piece de resistance for the hurried breakfast-table. 
But the undaunted head of the house came back with 
his people in fine humor, and managed to whisper to 
me, in a roguish manner, " I've got them good and hun- 
gry ; they won't mind what they eat now." 

Occasionally, when we were alone, all the breakfast 
was not eaten, and enough meat went off on the plat- 
ter for croquettes or hash, or a savory stew, but it was 
never Eliza's plan to attempt to save anything for the 
unexpected guest. If I expostulated with her, and 
said I wondered if everybody's cupboard was always 
as bare as ours, she protested in reply, " Miss Libbie, 
you don't spect to keep anything, do you, without no 
'frigerator, no cellah ? — why, things would spile." If I 
went out to the kitchen tent hungry, between meals, 
it was a very different affair ; she instantly said, " Miss 
Libbie, there ain't no bread, but it won't take me no 
time at all to beat you up some biscuit or poach you 
an egg.''^ 

If we were in a permanent camp — that is, if our tents 



236 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

were pitched for a stay of some weeks or months — we 
often had all the canvas we needed. Sometimes the 
kitchen and dining tent were put opposite each other, 
with a fly covering the space between. If we had the 
good-fortune to have a table at all, it was usually of 
rough boards spread on two carpenter's horses ; those 
sitting at one end could not lean on the table or em- 
phasize an after-dinner story by coming down with 
their fists on the boards. If they did, the table came 
too. The time appointed for other people's " walnuts 
and wine " was to us the hour for the officers' pipe and 
cup of coffee, and at many merrymakings the sudden 
coming down of expressively gesturing hands on the 
unreliable table set the dishes joining in the concert. 
We sometimes had stout camp-stools made of oak, for 
which we sent into the States, and the soldier who 
made them knew all that would be expected of them ; 
but even oak, leather, or the strongest canvas used 
would get rickety after being tumbled round in the 
baggage-Avagon in its descents into a canon, or in its 
plunges and jerks through heavy mud. There was a 
degree of uncertainty and insecurity about the legs of 
tables, stools, and camp-beds in those days that made us 
all sit down at first very gently. 

In the kitchen tent we found it well to leave the 
field completely to Eliza when dinner was in course 
of jDreparation. If we rejoiced in a cook-stove, it was 
battered and broken after our journeys; the utensils 
were pretty well wrecked also, while often a vicious 
change in the ever-varying wind drove the smoke into 



ARMY HOUSE-KEEPING. 237 

poor Eliza's eyes. The wood was frequently damp, 
and usually soft cotton-wood, wliicli would not burn at 
all if it was wet, and burned out quickly if it was dry. 
There was no kitchen-table. The mess chest was large, 
but its lid could not be utilized with safety. Filled as 
it was with dozens of slides for plates, saucers, platters, 
vegetable dishes, with holes cut for bowls and cups, 
compartments for sugar, flour, tea, coffee, rice, etc., it 
could not be used conveniently for a table, as, once its 
lid was down and in use, there was sure to be a little 
baking powder or a pinch of salt needed, and they 
were usually in the very depths of its centre. Eliza, 
knowing this, put her pans, skillets, and kettles on the 
ground, mixed her baking-powder biscuit on a board 
on the grass, peeled her potatoes kneeling, and ground 
her coffee sitting a la Turqiie. 

If the wind did not blow her tent quite down, she 
had to fight its continual bursts through the insecure 
fastenings at the front. Mingled with everything was 
the fine dust which the gusts of wind blew in, or 
which the continual flapping of the tent-wall on the 
ground sifted into every dish or cooking utensil. The 
tea blew away while being put into the teapot, the 
flour rose in little puffs while being moulded. No one 
ever gets quite used to the wind of the plains. "We 
studied in vain to outwit its persistent intermeddling. 
I have seen poor Eliza ironing on the ground, the gar- 
ment over which she worked held down by stones for 
weights, while she swiftly and vigorously plied her 
iron, holding down the other part with her free hand. 



238 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 



I 



Under all these vexatious circumstances it was a mar- 
vel how she kept her temper at all. At times when it 
was raining, the wind opening the entrance, or blow- 
ing up from underneath the tent -walls, or sending 
puffs of smoke out of the damper, or around the hole 
cut in the canvas for the pipe, no one approached the 
poor woman. If we heard the things rattle ominously, 
or wood being pitched about recklessly among the tins 
and kettles, or sounds of a voice deep and emphatic, or, 
more significant still, if the soldier who was our striker, 
and usually w^aited on the cook assiduously, slid quiet- 
ly out into the rain and wandered about aimlessly, we 
knew that it was the better part of valor to let Eliza 
work out her own salvation. She certainly had a right 
to be in a fury, and why she did not set the tent on 
fire, or take a skillet and brain those who brought her 
out there, was, and is, an unsolved problem. 

I have quoted one of her sayings before, but must 
beg the liberty of repeating it here. When the day 
was over, and twilight came, there was nothing to do. 
She sometimes grew lonely, and if I went to sit beside 
her, seeing that she had gone off by herself, and needed 
consoling, there was no answer to be made when she 
said, " Miss Libbie, you's always got the ginnel, but I 
hain't got nobody, and there ain't no picnics nor church 
sociables nor no buryings out here." Her whole heart 
w^as wrapped up in our interests, and many a device 
she resorted to in concocting some new dish with 
which to surprise us. I remember, when we were very 
far out in the wilderness, having tomato catsup to add 



ARMY HOUSE-KEEPING. 

to tlie flavor of the ever -recurring beef, Eliza's face 
shone with pleasure when we called her in and found 
that she had used canned tomatoes, which the commis- 
sary always has, to get up this treat for us. 

Once I had what seemed to me old-fashioned peach 
preserves, carrying me back in memory from the very 
heart of the great American desert to my mother's 
table in the East when I was a child. Again it was 
one of Eliza's surprises with canned peaches — which, 
like tomatoes, are always good at the commissary. If 
our butter melted on the march, and we prepared to 
eat dry bread all summer, she would say, "Don't none 
of you fret, it ain't spoiled, it's biled, and now it won't 
get rancid no matter what comes." 

Sometimes we saw no eggs all summer long, after 
the supply that we had brought from the last town 
we had passed through on our way to camp was ex- 
hausted. The cook-books were maddening to us, for 
a casual glance at any of them proves how necessary 
eggs, butter, and cream are to every recipe. In those 
days, when the army lived beyond the railroad, it would 
have been a boon if some clever army woman could 
have prepared a little manual for the use of house-keep- 
ers stranded on the frontier, and if she had also real- 
ized that we had no mothers to ask, and consequently 
had omitted the tormenting advice to ^^use your own 
judgment." 

Eliza knew that her master was extremely fond of 
apples, and when the supply sent out began to decay, 
she took the utmost pains to put them up in glass jars ; 



240 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

and when spring came, and there was dearth of every- 
thing in our snow-bound home, and we were aggra- 
vated by reading of strawberries, etc., in the States, 
Eliza brought the jars out from their conceahnent, 
and setting the apples before the head of the house, 
she said, " Ginnel, these is your strawberries." 



irntantrg DfnncrscalL 

[Called "Pease upon a Trencher."] 
110 = J Allegro. 




CHAPTER XVII. 



NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. 

Sometimes I have been asked, when speaking of the 
monotony of our fare, why we did not rely on game 
to vary the inevitable beef that Uncle Sam allowed 
us to buy. The Indians were about us a great deal 
of the time, and though perhaps unseen — for they 
are very wary — we had proof that they lurked in our 
vicinity. In Dakota we were never able to go on 
hunting parties without an escort, unless in the depths 
of winter. The danger of men getting so excited with 
the pursuit of game as to separate themselves from 
the others made the commanding officer dread sending 
hunting parties out to any distance. In the dead of 
winter, when the Indian was buried in his tepee, our 
officers and soldiers went often, and were able to bring 
back enough deer for many tables. 

It was a charming sight, the return of the hunters. 
16 



2i2 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

If Eliza ran to the door, her frugal eye took in the 
game before anything picturesque made an impression ; 
and she used to say : " Lord-a-massey's sake, Miss Lib- 
bie, ain't I glad that the ginnel's got a deer ! I've eat 
so much beef since I come to live with you tliat I 
spects to bellow and grow horns foh' I get back to 
God's land." 

The deer was taken into the wood-house, where the 
hunters cut it up, and sent, with their compliments, 
portions to the different families. If any one had been 
fortunate enougli to have bull or buffalo berries, gath- 
ered in the autumn, the jar of jelly added the tart 
flavor that game needs. These berries were red, and 
grew along the stem very thickly, so that gathering 
consisted in shaking the bush, under which a sol- 
dier's poncho was spread, to save the ripe fruit from 
being lost in the close buffalo-grass. I^aturally there 
were not so many berries gathered as might have been, 
had not our foe been watching to steal stray horses in 
the canons or bottom-land, where the fruit grew. The 
commanding oflScer was somewhat embarrassed one 
day when he sat visiting in the quarters of our neigh- 
bor, to whom he had sent a quarter of venison a few 
moments before. There was a tremendous scuflle and 
growling heard in the half-story (or attic) above, where 
the meat had been hung; and the host going up to 
see the meaning of the fracas, found nine of our dogs, 
that had followed their master in, and chased upstairs 
when no one was looking, busy eating the venison as 
fast as their powerful jaws could tear it apart. Of 



NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. 243 

course the hunters could do nothing else than go out 
next day for another deer to replace the stolen meat. 

In Kansas we had buffalo most of the time, and that 
was a great change for us. The rump-steak is juicy, 
and requires little basting, while buffalo tongues, which 
were such a rare treat in the market of the Eastern 
cities, were then to be had in abundance with us. It 
is remarkable how luxuries that are unheeded in the 
midst of plenty will impress themselves on our minds 
for years and years if they come to us in the midst of 
deprivations. We rarely had small game, except the 
few ducks that came to the pools formed by heavy 
rains on the prairie in the autumn ; but I remem- 
ber those, and the prairie-chickens of Kansas, and the 
plover of Dakota, that were shot on the march up the 
Missouri Eiver, as if I had never tasted birds before 
or since. I also recollect a little butter I once made, 
as seemingly the first and last occasion of my ever eat- 
ing any, so good did it seem. An officer made me a 
miniature churn with a bottle, and a little wooden 
dasher put through a cork. We were at the time 
marching each day farther and farther into the wilder- 
ness, but occasionally came to a ranch where some 
venturesome frontiersman had established himself, and 
located his claim to Government land. Of course our 
people galloped on in advance, and soon bought out 
the madam. There was a little cream among other 
things, and as I sat under the tent-fly after we made 
camp, it was soon transformed into butter in the toy 
churn. 



244 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

In £:arrison the head of our household was ahnost 
inconsolable without soup. On the inarch he could 
do without almost everything; but once in a house, 
there were certain articles on the bill of fare he made 
every effort to obtain. Ox-tail soup was, of course, 
easy to have when the beef was killed daily at a post ; 
but if it failed, the following dialogue between the 
master and cook took jDlace : " Wliere's my soup ?" like 
some small boy demanding his supper. Eliza, with 
maternal look, and protesting : '' Ginnel, what you 
e'pose I'se gwine to make soup of? I ain't got noth- 
ing." He : " Go out and get some stones, and boil 
them up with something; only I want soup." Exit 
Eliza, perplexed, but set to thinking how to concoct 
something out of nothing. 

Eliza really needed few suggestions, for her mind 
was intent on inventions, and ready to improve every 
opportunity that presented itself. While we were en- 
camped near Fort Hays, General Miles offered us many 
civilities, and among other kindnesses we received 
ice occasionally from the post ice-house. Eliza, in or- 
der to celebrate the arrival of some Eastern guest 
whom she wished to impress with our resources, served 
as a surprise one day peach ice-cream. Investigation 
revealed that it was made of condensed milk, with 
canned peaches, and frozen in a bucket which her will- 
ing "Man Friday " manipulated, no one knows for how 
long a time, during the freezing process. 

One day the cook of one of my friends offered to 
make her some vinegar-pies, and declared, in appetiz- 



NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. 245 

ing description, that " lemon-pies was nothing to them." 
So, carefully following the direction of her soldier- 
lover, she made the pastry, and for the pie part pre- 
pared a paste more like tliat used by the paper-hang- 
er than anything else, and flavored this with vinegar. 
The poor mistress, divided between the desire to thank 
the cook for trying to do something for her, and her 
repugnance to the odious pie, was in a state of extreme 
perplexity, but was able to decline with thanks when 
soldier pies were suggested again. 

One officer, coming from Bismarck one day, brought 
butter, and as the commissary had been out of that 
article for some time, all the messes sent over to the 
town to get some. Shortly after we learned that the 
commissary butter, at seventy -five cents, which had 
been condemned and sold to the grocer in town, had 
been put by him through some process that tempo- 
rarily helped it, placed in jars, and resold to us for one 
dollar a pound. 

Sometimes the tiresome bill of fare to which we had 
to submit when far from the railroad, or in a country 
where it was dangerous to hunt, was a sore trial if a 
woman chanced to be ailing and craved dainty food. 
Nearly every one was well, and our plain dishes were 
flavored by that inexhaustible " sauce," good appetite ; 
but w^hen any one was ill, and the appetite had to 
be tempted, it was hard. One of my friends had lis- 
tened with eager pleasure to the bill of fare that an- 
other friend had described as having been served at a 
luncheon she had attended in the States ; and if the 



24:6 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

less fortunate woman, wJio had not been on leave of 
absence, and who could not eat the food healthful peo- 
ple enjoyed, became desperate, she used to say, ^' Come, 

M , let us go to Mrs. So-and-So's to luncheon;" 

and her eyes brightened at the recapitulation of every 
dainty, as she let her powerful imagination deceive her 
into thinking she was actually a participant. 

It was constantly a wonder to me that officers who 
were leading a rough existence on the campaigns so 
much of the year, could take up all the amenities of 
life so readily when living in garrison again. We 
could rarely find any subject for criticism in their con- 
duct. Once General Custer forgot himself when he 
came home to his mother, after a long summer in the 
field. He took up his plate as he talked, and brushed 
it off with his napkin, as on the march it was almost 
a necessity to do, on account of the wind blowing the 
dust over everything. His sensitive old mother, always 
hovering around him, slipped to his place and critically 
examined the plate, saying, "My son, is there any- 
thing wrong with it ?" He blushed furiously, as blond 
people are apt to do if they redden at all, tossed back 
his hair, as he was wont to do in embarrassment, apol- 
ogized, and at once turned to tell me that I must break 

him of that habit, or he would do so at Judge S 's, 

or the Honorable Mr. M 's, where we were accus- 
tomed to dine sumptuously while on leave in New 
York. 

Every one in camp or garrison pounced upon the 
slightest chance for a joke, and a certain ofiicer would 



NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. 247 

blush now if reminded of the time we all let him, in 
an absent-minded way, sit down to our table in garri- 
son, on the day he returned from a march, with his hat 
on, just on purpose to laugh at him afterwards. Of 
course, with the persistent fatality of things, he was the 
most punctilious of us all, which made his slip all the 
funnier. Our officers ate out-of-doors six and eight 
months of the year, and necessarily dined with their 
heads covered ; consequently, it was little wonder that 
it took a day or two to get accustomed to in-door life. 
On a similar occasion, after months in the field. General 
Custer found Eliza transfixed with 'surprise, her face 
full of reproof, saying, as if he had been a spoiled boy, 
while she pointed to the fioor, " What you s'pose your 
mother goin' to think of you if you do them careless 
tricks when you get home ?" Accustomed in camp to 
toss the remnant of water in his tumbler on the grass 
before having it refilled, he had forgotten that he was 
not on a campaign until the splash on the bare floor of 
our dining-room was pointed out to him. Two or three 
trifles like these, occurring directly after their return 
from an expedition, were all that I ever saw of the 
gaucheries that many expected from men who lived 
almost constantly in the open air. 

If company came, there was recourse to borrowing. 
Our friends deprived themselves of everything, except, 
perhaps, a spoon or knife and fork and plate apiece, to 
supply our table. We had only six of everything in 
the mess chest, and it was no unusual thing to have 
a dozen people come unexpectedly ; then there was 



248 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

scurrying about to the different messes to borrow 
everything that could be spared. The term mess is 
applied either to a family or a number of officers who 
for convenience live together, engaging one cook, and 
each of the mess taking his turn in the domestic details 
and providing the supplies. At the end of the month 
the expenses are equally divided. I find that it is the 
impression among civilians tliat officers have their food 
provided as the soldiers do their rations. Officers buy 
everything for themselves, but Government makes no 
extra charge for the transportation. The commissary 
sells in Arizona, or any equally remote place, at the 
same rate at which the articles were bought in the East. 
Tliere are commissioners who examine everything sub- 
mitted to the Commissary Department, so that what 
we bought was, as a rule, of the best quality. There 
was always this drawback, however, that the supplies 
might have been on hand so long as to have lost fresh- 
ness, and sometimes the Government warehouses were 
far from suitable for the storing of groceries and pro- 
visions. 

We thought no more of borrowing for any company 
or unusual festivity that we had, than if all had been 
making these demands on our mothers or sisters living 
near. We lent our houses and everytliing in them for 
months at a time. It was surprising how little was 
lost living in that careless way. We had no locks on 
our doors, nor was ever a key turned in a trunk or on a 
closet, if we happened ever to have the latter luxury. I 
never remember losing anything except some valuable 



NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. 249 

lace, and that was taken by a woman to whom we 
gave a home while she was trying to get a place as 
cook. We slept always with unlocked doors. The 
sentinel was at some distance from us, but we did not 
look to him for the protection of our property. It was 
to the honor and kindly feeling towards us that we 
trusted. As I have said, our soldiers sometimes took 
things to replace our worn-out outfit, but made what 
they thought very trifling exchanges, and they were in 
turn so zealous in guarding our effects that we never 
lost anything. We were careless enough — so much so 
that if any trifling addition was made to our equip- 
ments we did not know enough about our belongings 
to notice it. Once I remember seeing a chest of car- 
penter's tools in the stable. That did surprise me, but 
the story told was plausible, and it was impossible to 
get at the exact truth. Soon afterwards we suddenly 
moved, on imperative orders, and the chest could not 
be transported, so I always hoped that it finally reached 
its rightful owner. The servants knew that every one 
was welcome to our things, so they did not even ask 
us; and if I recognized anything at a friend's house 
when the refreshments were served in the evening, 
there was a significant smile from the hostess as I ate 
with ray own spoon and used a napkin with a big C in 
the corner. 

There was in the family a mania for auctions. A red 
flag out of a house in a city through which we were 
rushing to catch a train set us in a perfect flutter, and 
was a sad disquieter of the domestic peace, so hard did 



250 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

it seem to pass it by. "While stationed at Leavenworth 
there was wide scope for the exercise of this family 
predilection. Sometimes the queerest imaginable arti- 
cles came home, and if one of the family of two had 
not had a hand in the excitement of bidding and pur- 
chasing, there was very apt to follow an inquiry com- 
mon in domestic circles — "What on earth do you 
suppose one can ever do with thatT'^ — some scorn 
underlying the emphasized " that " Once a huge bowl 
— too big for any ordinary occasion — made its entree 
with just such a welcome. But a great "find" it 
proved eventually ; there came to be no festive occa- 
sion complete without it. My dish was a belle ; it was 
invited to more dinners than any one in garrison, and 
it was too hard that it could not have caught and re- 
tained in its deep bowl some of the wit and honho- 
mie that surrounded it, for officers are the best of 
diners. In the short half-hour allowed for dressing, a 
business man must shake off the cares and perplexities 
that have consumed him all day, and put himself into 
visiting trim. Our officers have not that to do. They 
have hard duty in the day, but much of it is routine 
work, and is not accompanied with carking care, conse- 
quently it can be thrown off the moment it no longer 
requires attention. But then it is their nature, and 
the life encourages them to work very hard when work 
is before them to do, but to set aside the burdens 
quickly. Indeed, take out of every man's life the ne- 
cessity for anxiety about food and clothes, give him a 
house to live in and for those he loves, secure these 



NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. 251 

permanently, and the wrinkles would be smoothed out 
of many a fast-furrowing face. The Government gives 
one a house free of rent — ofttimes not much more than 
a barrack, but still a shelter — wood to warm you, forage 
for two horses ; and the pay, small as it is, enables at 
least two people to have what they need to eat and to 
wear. There was very little competition in the way of 
living out on our border. Take that out of life and 
see what a difference it makes. It was no wonder, 
then, that men came to dinner full to the brim of 
capacity for enjoyment. 

When there is an invalid wife to send into the 
States for treatment, or there are children to educate, 
the perplexities begin, for the pay account soon evapo- 
rates ; but there is no life from which care can be en- 
tirely excluded, and even under these circumstances I 
have rarely known men and women inflict their anxi- 
eties upon others on any social occasion. I knew a 
major-general whom New York's choicest people often 
dined. He was something superb to look at physical- 
ly, and, besides his wide experience in life and his 
splendid military record, he was full of the delicate 
niceties of a courteous gentleman, apparently free from 
anxieties, in perfect health, faultlessly dressed, and his 
smooth and handsome face bore no trace of care ; still 
his pockets were often nearly empty if it happened to 
be the latter part of the month, and once, I know, 
when he was visiting some of our friends, he had but 
forty-five cents and no bank account. His pay was 
not small, but he was generous and hospitable, and if a 



252 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

major-general is expected to live as he ought to live, 
the pay is hardly adequate. 

If in the autumn we left camp and came into garri- 
son for a few winter months, "we seemed to have noth- 
ing. The rooms of our quarters, only of ordinary size, 
made the few pieces of furniture look isolated, with 
such awful distances between them. A woman's in- 
genuity came then into play. The companies had all 
sorts of artisans as enlisted men, and we first borrowed 
a carpenter. With rough boards he made us inexpen- 
sive loimge-frames that we felt no hesitancy in throw- 
ing away when we left again in the spring. For these 
we bought single mattresses, and then made covers of 
cretonne or common calico. As the covers were boxed, 
the frill fully pleated on, and the pillows also boxed, it 
looked like a lounge, and did not have a '' beddy " look, 
as we used to say. The pillows were stuffed with hay, 
perhaps, for it was a long time before we attained to all 
the feather-pillows we needed. We could have several 
of these lounges, and after we had learned to accumu- 
late bright Mexican or gay striped blankets, and things 
that fold up, we could soon make ourselves comfortable. 

A roll of anything can almost always be stuffed in a 
closely packed wagon, while actual furniture is a prob- 
lem. So we became very expert in choosing stuffs that 
would cover furniture and curtain windows. Some of 
the old curtain-covers of those far-away days are still 
in use. - With a lounge in every room and curtains 
at the windows, there was a great step made towards 
furnishing. We had low boxes with lids to fit in the 



NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. 253 

windows, and these we covered and stuffed for seats. 
Sometimes two of our packing-cliests were made just 
the right height and size, so that when put side by 
side they would make a good foundation for a lounge. 
Our camp-chairs were freshly covered, and stools made 
of boxes again covered. The few books we were able 
to take with us the carpenter arranged shelves for, or 
by good-fortune the little parlor had a wide cupboard 
beside the fireplace, with shelves above. 

We tried to keep one carpet intact ; but in our own 
chamber four gray Government blankets, bought at a 
sale of condemned goods, were darned, sewed together, 
and spread in the centre of the room. Our bureaus 
were always called bureaus ; but they were in part 
packing boxes, shelved inside, and covered with the 
calico which did much to hide angularities and ugliness. 
The wash-stands were similarly constructed. How 
often we Bedouins, who came in so late in the autumn 
and left so early in the spring, wished that Uncle Sam 
would put in the quarters the roughest sort of furniture 
as a permanency ! These makeshifts were resorted to 
only when we were to stay a short time. If we were 
able to remain long enough in one place to call a post 
our regimental headquarters, we could accumulate a 
few really good articles, and leave them stored in gar- 
rison in our absence in the field. 

There are not many quarters that do not have a few 
pictures. Even in those days if we had chromos we 
were glad, for the walls of army quarters were not pa- 
pered and a poor picture even took away a little of 



254 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

the bare look. Occasionally some one who painted in 
oils or water colors would triumph over the obstacles 
of our life, and their walls were our envy. The sol- 
dier carpenter made clumsy frames, which were painted 
or ebonized at home, and such a relief to the eye were 
these pictures that the artist bade fair to have his or 
her head so effectually turned that he would consider 
further artistic effort unnecessary. 

We rarely had flowers to brighten our houses. Some- 
times in tlie underbrush, where the sole trees we had — 
the cotton-woods — grew, we found clematis, and the joy 
of draping our pictures or mantles with this graceful 
vine, covered with its soft tufts of fluffy gray, was some- 
thing to be remembered. For a brief time in the early 
summer the plains were aflame with wild flowers of 
the most brilliant dyes ; but the hot summer scorched 
them, as well as the grass, out of existence. As ferns 
only grew in rather damp and shady places, it can be 
imagined that we never saw them. I had given me 
some pressed ferns in the States once, and pasted them 
on one of our windows when we reached the arid sun- 
baked plains. They seemed like a bit of fairy-land, 
and looking at them while they lasted transported us 
to cool nooks on a pretty brook overhung with thick 
foliage. Flowers are in such common use nowadays 
that few tables are without them. Perhaps only a 
cheap little basket of ferns and foliage plants, or a 
bowl of wild daisies, but that flowerless land seems 
like the desert of Sahara as I look back at it as it was 
after early summer was past. 



NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. 255 

During our stay at a post wlien the hot sun had 
dried all vegetation, and we were surrounded with prai- 
ries burned with the heat, one of our number planted 
some Madeira bulbs in boxes on each side of the man- 
tle, and we laughed at her credulity when she looked 
for results. But one day she was able to laugh back, 
as tiny shoots appeared. When her soldier husband 
came home from the campaign, the vines had stretched 
on up to the chimney, and were following a lattice of 
scarlet strings that were stretched across above the 
mantel, making a verdant side to the bare room. This 
same friend left us to go with her husband on detached 
duty, and they found tliat they must spend the winter 
in huts in an isolated part of unsettled Kansas. To 
keep the cold from coming through the nnplastered 
walls, she papered them with Army and Navy Jour- 
nals^ and ornamented them with illustrations from Har- 
jpei^'s Weekly^ finishing with a few poems as a dado. 
The soldiers sometimes gave us " pointers " as we rode 
by their quarters. One had a box for a dressing-table, 
and covering it a gunny sack, such as the grain came 
in, fringed all around as a cover. For liis wash-stand 
he had driven a pole into the ground of the proper 
height, and nailed to this a board to hold his tin basin. 
Sometimes the soldiers made mats similar to those the 
sailors fashion, and it is diflScult to realize how effective 
rags hooked through burlaps can be made when so 
few colors are available. Old blue army cloth, both 
light and dark, bits of white muslin and red flannel^ 
were everything the men had, and their home-made 



256 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

hooks, made of a bit of wire, seemed to do just as 
good work as the loom. People are mistaken if they 
imagine for a moment that happiness arises from their 
accessaries or surroundings. These certainly add, but 
the most contented people I ever knew lived in the 
very heart of the great American desert. 

Tliose women who cared for fancy-work would beau- 
tify their quarters, and there was much leisure for nee- 
dle-work. Military people are very social. They sat 
on the gallery a great deal, and officers going about the 
garrison on duty stopped for a chat coming from the 
stables, or spent an hour waiting for drill call, or in 
helmet and spurs smoked a cigarette while the orderly 
brought their horses for parade. Each woman coming 
from leave of absence was prepared to teach a new 
stitch, lend her fresh designs, or send back to have those 
she had brought reproduced. 

During the long summers, when we women were 
left alone, and had nothing to fill up our time except 
work that we purposely made to occupy the lonely 
hours, there came to be great improvement in our 
stitchery. We sat on the galleries at work while one 
read, and the delicate fingers of some fashioned the 
bullion shoulder-straps, or ripped a military cap to 
copy it, or even had the courage to attempt shirt-mak- 
ing. Others painted, or drew, or learned new guitar 
accompaniments. One of our number was so indus- 
trious that she could not sit with idle hands in camp, 
but resorted to knitting, and was soon dubbed " the 
little grandmother." 



NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. 257 

Harper'^s Bazar was as thoronghlj read out there 
as at any point in its wide wanderings. The question 
of clothes was not a serious one, for we dared, when so 
far beyond the raih'oad, to wear things out of date. It 
was rather difficult to teach ourselves to be dress-makers, 
and things looked pretty botchy and home-made for a 
long time after we had begun to do such work; but 
there was much goodness in helping and teaching, and 
sometimes, if one of us was plunged into difficulties — 
for instance, coming from a long march literally in tat- 
ters — the rest came in for a " bee," and made light work 
about the sewing-machine. We could get cotton gowns 
at the sutler's (the one store allowed in a garrison) or 
in the little town that is often located on the edge of a 
reservation. We sent into the States by every avail- 
able opportunity for anything so serious as a stuff 
gown or outer garment. We all carried lists into the 
States to fill for others. It was amusing to see a bach- 
elor officer go into a shop in the East with his lists, 
where the superciliousness of the smart young woman 
who waited on him almost made him beat a hasty re- 
treat. The shop-girl is often a superior order of being 
even with experienced shoppers, and sometimes loftily 
undertakes to prove that she knows what you want 
much better than you do yourself ; but take a blushing 
youth, with all sorts of articles that he has talked calm- 
ly over with the women in garrison, where all are like 
one family, these very articles seem very formidable 
when he attempts to utter them in the presence of a 
city saleswoman. The girl does not help him in his 
17 



258 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

embarrassment, you may be sure, and a red and uncom- 
fortable time is perhaps his while selecting even stock- 
ings. The oflScers' devotion to women was so great 
that they did not hesitate to make exhibitions of them- 
selves in front of many a counter. I remember a bride- 
groom sent out on his wedding journey to buy a neck 
ruche. Before starting he was well drilled, and said 
his lesson quite fluently ; but he was no sooner on the 
crowded street than the " ruche of illusion footing " 
became so jumbled in his mind that he could not 
straighten out the words in the order in which they 
should go. He described himself on his return as pass- 
ing shop after shop in trying to get courage to enter 
and utter the strange jumble of sounds into which 
the commission had got itself tangled. It was war- 
time, and officers w^ore their uniforms in the cities, so 
that a very youthful and violently red brigadier-general 
presented himself before the surprised shop-girl, and 
excitedly blurted out his request for a " foot of Russian 
illusion." The smile of the shop-girl seemed sardonic 
to him ; but he bravely stood his ground, and after many 
labored explanations he succeeded in returning to the 
hotel, triumphantly carrying a brown-paper parcel. 

Sometimes boots or shoes were ordered by mail and 
sent separately, on account of bulk or postage. Any 
one anxiously looking for his second shoe in two or 
three successive mails was told, in a teasing and fore- 
boding way, that the other shoe would never come, and 
that there was nothing left for him but to " put his 
best foot forward " from that time on. 



NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. 259 

If we went on leave of absence we borrowed each 
other's clothes — or, rather, they were offered before we 
could ask. Our neighbors stepped in with a mysteri- 
ous bundle, which meant the one choice article in their 
wardrobe. It used to seem to me that if I was once 
complete, it would be a gala-day. If I had a gown, 
there was no appropriate outer garment ; if I possessed 
a charming bonnet, it made my gown look as if it had 
belonged to a Mayflower ancestor. This was all be- 
cause we stayed so short a time in the States that we 
considered it foolish to make any permanent prepara- 
tions ; besides, there were so many useful things for 
our quarters on which we wished to expend our money. 
I recall our once starting suddenly for a large city for 
a few days' pleasure. I had a lovely gown that was a 
surprise to me, having been sent for by General Custer 
perhaps fifteen hundred miles. My bonnet was admis- 
sible, but I had no wrap of any sort except a winter 
cloak. I had no idea of having my pleasure destroy- 
ed by such a need, so I inwardly prayed that no early 
autumn cold snap would visit us and necessitate a warm 
outer garment. As I left the house, a generous friend 
ran up the steps with an heirloom — a camel's -hair 
shawl. I protested, the carriage was waiting, impatient 
feet beat a tattoo; I laid the beautiful shawl back on my 
friend's arm reluctantly, I confess, but as we rushed 
down the steps she flung it on my shoulder. I w^onder 
if a borrowed baby makes any more anxiety than an 
heirloom loaned ? In the many mirrors of a hotel I 
surveyed myself with serenity ; but oh, what inward 



2 GO FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

consciousness of responsibility ! If I took the sliawl 
with me when driving, I feared that it would be lost, 
if I left it at the hotel, I was wild about thieves. To 
crown all this I met a friend from my girlhood's home 
whose eyes fastened on this bit of elegance I was wear- 
ing, and who, I knew, would report me as parading in 
purjDle and fine linen, whereupon our towns -people, 
knowing that we were too poor to buy India shawls, 
would extract a confession that my " fine feathers " be- 
longed to another bird. This little tale I leave with- 
out a moral ; I have only told it to prove that people 
in that life had nothing so choice that it could not be 
shared with others. 

I rather think our " get up " for a garrison hop was 
our greatest failure in the way of dress, for we tried to 
do something then, and it sometimes ended in a lam- 
entable failure. We fished out from the little finery 
in the bottom of our trunks some frivolities in the 
way of ribbons or fiowers or trimmings that had served 
their time, and were ready for retirement even be- 
fore coming West. But in our efforts to emphasize 
the occasion, a white or a black gown was decorated 
with trimmings, perhaps crushed, wrinkled, or out of 
date. Fortunately we had no city toilets to compete 
with, and it took a good deal to disfigure fresh, health- 
ful, happy women in the eyes of men who always gave 
them their meed of praise. I tremble to make the 
statement, but there is a familiar look in the windows 
of second-hand establishments in the cities as I pass 
them, and the flounces and plaits out of date, the rib- 



NECESSITY THE MOTHER OF INVENTION. 261 

bons and trimmings quite jpasse^ do remind me a little 
of evenings when we all tried to look smart out there 
beyond the pale of civilization. 1 do remember a 
French gown, the box containing which we saw on its 
way to a post hundreds of miles beyond us. The officer 
dared not crush it into his small trunk, so he had car- 
ried it in the cars on his lap, in a stage, in an ambulance, 
and still had another stage ride before him when Ave 
entertained him; but our men were not often put to 
such a test of good-nature, for there were few women 
who did not try to make the wardrobe they brought 
out last two or three years with simple additions, easily 
obtained. 

At one time we all came in from the plains when 
our regiment was ordered South on duty. The wom- 
en hurriedly retreated to their rooms at the hotel to 
escape curious eyes, for it w^as written all over us that 
w^e were, in Western terms, " waybacks from way back." 
The retreat was not so quickly made that one pair of 
observing eyes did not take in a few women on the 
way, and discover that basques were worn instead of 
round waists. The scissors were soon snippnig, the 
needle flying, and the result was a basque ready for 
dinner. Meanwhile a charge of our brave men was 
made through the town hunting for back hair to re- 
model the antique coiffures of their better halves. It 
was no easy task, for the sun fades and streaks the 
glossiest locks out there, and the wind breaks and dries 
the silkiest mane. Fashion had dictated a chignon 
of heavy braids and curls during our long absence on 



262 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

the plains, and the poor martyred men made many a 
sally before a perfect match could be obtained. At 
last we made our appearance, revelling in all the glory 
of a protuberance of regulation size, and the little com- 
pany of blue-coats marshalled their forces and advanced 
on the dinner-table, and then had the heartlessness to 
laugh at the unusual dignity with which the overbur- 
dened heads were carried. 



Bre06 iparaDe. 



^^m^^^^M^ 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



General Custer was delighted to hear at last that 
his friend, the Hon, K. C. Barker, was about to accept 
one of the many invitations we had sent him, and come 
to our camp for a hunt. Several other Detroiters, ea- 
ger sportsmen, also, were to accompany him. They 
had hardly been our guests in camp long enough to 
dispose of luncheon before all were asked to don the 
hunting-garb and prepare for the setting out ; as the 
good buffalo ground was twelve miles distant, it was 
necessary to reach it before dark. Already had the 
troopers who were to go as escort received their or- 
ders, and saddles, girths, bridles, and lariats were put in 
order, carbines and pistols cleaned and loaded, horses 
fed and groomed to the last degree of shine. The band 
also put their instruments into a brighter condition, to 
add to the general glitter of the column. 

]S"early all of the officers of the regiment engaged in 
the hunt were mounted on their second-best horses, 
having their trusty chargers led, in order that they 
might be fresh next day for the run. There were all 
the wagons necessary for supplies, and mess chests for 
the various groups of officers who lived together ; tents 



264: FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

were carried, and there was also a certain amount of 
forage, for it was necessary to prepare for several days' 
absence of the cavalcade of seventy. A brave sight it 
was as they started out, a column half a mile long, and 
the eyes of our delighted guests shone with excitement 
as they noted the dashing cavalry oflBcers sitting their 
mettlesome steeds with such ease, the troopers riding 
equally well and brilliant in touches, as the sun caught 
the polished steel of their fire-arms or sent radiating 
lines of light from the shining bit or burnished spur — 
the band playing the regimental tune " Garryowen," as 
their wise and steady gray horses paced their way with- 
out guiding. The stag-hounds bounded along on their 
cushioned feet, spurning the soft turf in their active 
leaps. One of the guests, enthusiastically happy, and 
fearless in expression of his joy, kept turning to take 
in the rare sight, declaring that nothing in our prosaic 
nineteenth century was so like the days of chivalry, 
when some feudal lord went out to war or to the chase, 
followed by his retainers. 

There were two heavy weights in the party, and they 
had taken the precaution to start in the ambulances, 
knowing that the saddle would exact some terrible pen- 
ance from them next day, when, unaccustomed to rid- 
ing, they pounded up and down over the rough country. 
The gay scene was too much for them, however ; the 
merry voices of the officers, story telling, singing, laugh- 
ing, the more subdued but none the less jubilant tones 
of the troopers who rejoiced at this unusual holiday, 
the quick happy bark of the dogs, the neigh of the 



LEADS THE HUNT. 265 

horses, delighting in the fresh, exhilarating air of the 
plains, made them feel themselves prisoners inside a 
vehicle, so a halt was made, and the men of solid flesh 
began at once to play cavalrymen. At the end of the 
twelve miles, unvaried except by some jack -rabbit 
chases, when by their speed the dogs enchanted Mr. Bar- 
ker, who had given them to us, a camping-ground was 
selected and the fire for supper soon sent its cheerful 
gleam into the twilight shadows. The soldiers, with 
the ease of practice, had put up two rows of wall-tents 
facing each other, and near them another line of their 
own A tents. The wagons and ambulances were so 
placed at the rear of each line of tents that they formed 
a temporary barricade, for, even on such a pleasuring 
as that was, none of the usual precautions for safety 
were neglected. 

The camp named for Mr. Barker was a noisy one 
for a time. The twelve-mile march had not tired the 
guests sufficiently to produce quiet, while to the offi- 
cers and troopers it was a mere bagatelle. They smoked 
and told frontier tales, while the guests brought out 
their choicest collection of after-dinner stories from 
the States; it was only the consideration of the early 
reveille that induced them to turn in on their blankets 
and buffalo-robes for sleep. Reveille at dawn brought 
the party out again, fresh and enthusiastic for the day's 
sport. 

After breakfast the distribution of horses began. By 
that time all the best buffalo-horses in the regiment 
were well known, and as this was an occasion when it 



266 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

was the desire of all of us to make the hunt a success, 
the trustworthy, experienced animals had been brought 
along. The only problem was the mounting of Mr. 
Barker and Judge Beckwith, weighing, as they did, 
nearly two hundred and thirty pounds each. It was 
always difficult for the heavier men of our regiment to 
get good mounts, and even if they found horses strong 
enough to carry them on the march, on drill, or ordi- 
nary garrison duty, it always remained a query whether 
these powerful animals had enough speed to join in the 
chase. This question was studied pretty thoroughly, 
and the strongest horse in the regiment with any speed 
had been selected for Mr. Barker, but by one of those 
unfortupate accidents that thwart the best laid plans, 
the scout sent out at daybreak to look up a buffalo 
herd had taken the strong horse held in reserve, and 
blown him so that there was no good work to be ex- 
pected of him for the next twenty-four hours. 

Fifty horsemen were soon in line of march, followed 
by wagons to bring back the meat ; and, much to the 
guests' distress, two ambulances brought up the rear to 
carry the wounded should any one be hurt. These ve- 
hicles seemed like birds of evil omen following slow- 
ly along after a thoughtless, jubilant company, and no 
one wanted to look backward if he hoped to keep the 
gloomy side of life out of his mind. When the gay 
cavalcade had gone a few miles the scouts sent out re- 
turned, to report the direction of the buffalo they had 
found. When the black specks appeared against the 
horizon the enthusiasm of the Eastern men knew no 



LEADS THE HUNT. 267 

bounds ; each burned with a desire to take back a 
record to those unfortunate Detroiters who had not 
had the good-luck to come. The officers experienced 
in the chase made each guest their special care, so that 
there was no lack of hints regarding tlie preparations 
for the charge. The usual halt took place to dismount, 
examine bits, surcingles, spurs and fire-arms, and to 
discard coats, and secure hats with handkerchiefs or 
strings ; for the thought was not of appearances at such 
a moment. 

Finally, at the signal the fifty horsemen vaulted into 
saddles and were off. To the tourists the buffalo seemed 
huge. One of the party, describing them, after their 
return, said they had the grace of an elephant and 
the beauty of a hippopotamus. The monsters were 
not long in discovering the enemy coming towards 
them ; they promptly started their cumbrous bodies into 
a lumbering run, and, as usual, got over the country at 
such a surprising rate that it took all the best riding of 
the old hunters, and the very best skill of the " tender- 
feet " to keep their poise in the saddle, and let the expe- 
rienced horse take them down divides, up the constant- 
ly recurring slopes, through the softened soil where the 
gopher and prairie-dog had undermined the earth. 

The buffalo pitches down any descent in a headlong, 
reckless manner. He never spares himself. The Ind- 
ians often drove them to a bluff, knowing that if stam- 
peded they would leap down the steepest declivity, 
and plunging below on their huge heads, it became an 
easy affair to finish them with the knife if they were 



268 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

not killed outright. This inhumanity was not a prac- 
tice with the white man. In any descent, therefore, 
the buffalo gained on his pursuer, but in the ascent 
of the divide the horse was superior, and often caught 
up with the groaning, puffing, laboring buffalo. 

The herd of thirty first seen that day was soon scat- 
tered, the hunters starting out in all directions in pur- 
suit of the isolated animals. After a slmvp run of a 
few miles the riders began to return, dusty, heated, all 
talking at once — gesticulating, explaining why such- 
and-such a shot was missed, narrating narrow escapes, 
chronicling successes. The count was good, for twenty- 
four buffaloes lay scattered on all sides within a radius 
of three miles. The accidents were told over next. 
One of the guests had had his horse pushed into a 
creek by a buffalo, but being an old soldier, he knew 
how to extricate himself. The horse of a soldier had 
been gored, another trooper's horse showed the long 
trail of a buffalo-horn where the hair had been scraped 
off on the side. A hole in the sleeve of one of the 
novices in buffalo-hunting revealed the fact that the 
aim of his pistol had not been quite what he intended 
it to be ; another had evidently been equally unfortu- 
nate in his aim, for the palm of his hand was black, and 
smarting with powder, and he could not explain where 
the ball went. The party, satisfied with their success, 
turned back to camp, but with much anxiety regarding 
the missing ones. Before they reached there the lost 
came up, and General Custer's description gives some 
idea of what a dangerous pastime buffalo-hunting was : 



LEADS THE HUNT. 269 

Mr. Barker, mounted upon an animal that Lad justly ex- 
cited his suspicions from the first (for he had discovered 
an ugly cut on the knee, and a tendency to stumble), singled 
out his buffalo on the first charge, and after separating him 
from the main herd, began emptying his revolver into the 
sides of the buffalo — horse, rider, and buffalo going at break- 
neck pace. He must be a bold rider who, mounted upon a 
strange horse, is willing to strike out at full speed over a 
country known to be infested with prairie-dog holes, wolf 
dens, and quicksands. The risk of a fall is always great, 
but to a man of K. C. B.'s weight it is fearful. The horse 
proved unsteady under fire. Barker concluded to go from 
the right to the left side of the buffalo ; in doing so he pass- 
ed close to the haunches* of the latter. The buffalo at this 
moment concluded to give battle, and turned to intercept 
the horse. "Look out for him. Barker !" was the warning cry 
of a friend; but Barker's eyes were directed to the front. 
Again is the warning repeated. This time it is heard, and 
Barker glances towards the buffalo, but too late. Already 
the horns are partly concealed by the long flowing tail of 
the horse, while the latter, feeling the points of the enraged 
animal's horns pressing his flanks, leaps with affrighted vig- 
or to elude the coming blow, but in doing so unsettles the 
rider's seat. For a moment Barker is seen attempting to 
recover himself ; but the horse, now unmanageable from fear, 
plunges madly forward, the rider loses his balance, and the 
next instant goes headlong to the ground. What 1 did, or 
what any of the half-dozen friends following closely did at 
the time, cannot be clearly stated. That we all realized the 
full extent of the danger that surrounded our comrade was 
certain, but how to relieve him ? 

As if by intuition, and without uttering a word, all head- 
ed their horses towards the buffalo, who, finding himself the 
object of so much undivided attention, allowed himself to 
be diverted from continuing his attack on Barker, now lying 



270 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

perfectly helpless and insensible within three bounds of the 
buffalo. The latter again chose to confide in the swiftness 
of his legs rather than in the strength of his horns — a de- 
cision which spared to Detroit one of its most estimable cit- 
izens, and to the sporting world one of its brightest orna- 
ments. 

Seeing the buffalo well under way, our attention was next 
directed to ascertaining the extent of the injuries received 
by our friend. He was still lying insensible, breathing as 
if partly suffocated. By means of restoratives and fresh 
air — of the latter there being an abundance — we soon had 
him on his feet ; and upon " time being called," in the course 
of a quarter of an hour he announced himself ready to mount 
his horse. This time a change was effected by which, al- 
though placed astride a lighter animal, it was with the 
assurance that he was " sure-footed, and not afraid of buffa- 
loes." If timidity had been one of Mr. Barker's character- 
istics, he would have been content to call it " quits " with 
the buffalo; but no, his "dander" was up, and he sur- 
prised his hearers by announcing that his late narrow escape 
from a possible death was " just the thing." To use his own 
expressions : " I know now just how to take them and how 
to ride ;" and as for the blackened eye and bruised cheek, 
he declared that " no money could buy them." 

It would not do to leave a renowned hunter thus 
worsted on the field, so I omit portions of the letter 
and continue General Caster's account of his final suc- 
cess : 

Turning our faces towards camp, we had not proceeded 
far before we discovered a fine herd off to our right. Ap- 
proaching as near as possible without giving the alarm, a 
very good start was effected. K. C. B. singled out his buffa- 
lo, wliich proved to be a fine bull about five years old, and 



"gakryowen" leads the hunt. 271 

very fleet. It required a good run to bring pursuer and pur- 
sued within pistol range of each other ; but once accomplish- 
ed, Mr. B. began to make his presence known by deliberately 
emptying his large Colt's revolver, directing his shots im- 
mediately in rear of the fore-shoulder and below the middle 
of the body. Barrel after barrel was discharged until the 
revolver was empty, and still the speed seemed unslackened. 
Replacing this revolver in its holster and drawing another, 
the firing was continued. The last shot of the second re- 
volver had been fired, making twelve in all, and still the 
race went on without signs of distress. An attendant handed 
Barker a third revolver. This in turn was emptied into the 
bufEalo, and all, apparently, to no purpose. A fourth revolv- 
er is supplied, from which four shots are fired, when the 
buffalo's never-failmg signal of defeat, bleeding at the nose, 
is perceptible. Slowly decreasing his speed the buffalo soon 
comes to a halt, the next instant he is down on his side, and 
before his heart ceases to beat, or he to struggle, Barker is 
out of the saddle, and with hat in hand leaps upon the buf- 
falo and gives three hearty cheers, in which he is joined by 
all of the party who are within hearing. The head of the 
animal is soon removed from the carcass, and conveyed with 
the party to camp, from which point it was expressed the 
same day to Detroit, there to be placed in the hands of the 
taxidermist for preservation. 

After all had gathered about the camp-fire at night 
there was the usual vehement exchange of experiences, 
and the customar}^ recounting of ludicrous situations, 
or occasions when danger was looked in the face. Of 
course the tourists were much spent and very hungry, 
and the camp supper, with their own game for the 
principal dish, was " food fit for the gods," they said. 
The story-telling and merriment was somewhat sub- 



272 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

dued on account of fatigue, and our guests were not 
aware, in a few moments after touching the blankets, 
that they were not sleeping on the soft beds of civili- 
zation. 

General Custer continues : 

The following day was the Sabbath, and although hun- 
dreds of miles from church or chapel, it was nevertheless 
determined to " Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy," 
a resolution which gave no little pleasure. At sunset the 
band played " Old Hundred," the effect of which on our lit- 
tle party was more powerful than if sung by a well-organized 
choii' with all the accompaniments of church and congrega- 
tion. 

The merriest man of all these guests was a rollick- 
ing Irishman, who, though living quietly in Canada at 
that time, had been an extensive traveller, and in many 
adventures by sea and by land. His stories, his songs, 
Lis repartee were some things not to be forgotten. 
"Without pretension or the least self -consciousness he 
took the lead in everything, and the moment he open- 
ed his mouth the others became silent, knowing that it 
was "not best to miss anything that Morgan said, if 
a fellow cared a rap for fun." As I remember him 
and his bright comrade of a wife, a vivacious French- 
woman, my lips involuntarily form themselves into a 
smile, and a dozen instances of their clever wit come 
trooping back to amuse me. The one picture I best 
recall is of an occasion when Mr. Morgan was nearly 
drowned in the Detroit River. I was visiting at the 
Barkers' on Grosse Isle, and at evening we rowed over 



"gaeryowen" leads the hunt. 273 

to the Morgans', where we first heard of the narrow 
escape. With the merriest twinkle in his eye he gave 
us so amusing an account of himself while he clung to 
the boat, in peril of drowning, that we shouted over it 
exactly as if it had been the best joke in the world, in- 
stead of the story of a hair-breadth escape from a wa- 
tery grave. His cries for help were heard first by his 
wife, who ran for the boatman, and while he was get- 
ting his oars Mrs. Morgan tore up to the house, bring- 
ing back with her a brandy-flask and waved it to the 
struggling man, who clung rather feebly to the upturned 
boat, for Mr. Morgan was not strong. Even weak and 
chilled as he was, the pluck of his wife, when she was 
so frightened, and the fun of the whole affair, took pos- 
session of him, and he shouted, " Thank you, Tillie, I'll 
be there, directly !" 

The brogue added to every story he told, and we all, 
long after he had left us, repeated and laughed over his 
quick sallies and his fresh, unhackneyed dinner and 
camp-fire tales. Out of the fifty- three buffaloes killed 
on the two days' hunt, Mr. Morgan had the best score, for, 
unaided, he had despatched seven. He allows me to use 
an extract or so from letters to his wife at that time : 

The fatigue of yesterday's hunt was too much for most 
of the visitors, many of whom were unfamiliar with eques- 
trianism, and they were slow to respond to the reveille ; 
when they did come forth from their tents it was with that 
peculiar gait which a pair of compasses must adopt if com- 
pelled to walk across a table. We were all willing to rest 
our laurels of yesterday's running for one day, and the morn- 
18 



274r FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

ing was devoted to recounting our deeds of valor and hair- 
breadth escapes. I had a bullet-hole though the sleeve of 

my coat. Mr. L 's horse shied at a polecat, his plug hat 

fell of, and came in for the full phials^of the beast's wrath ; 
the tile was subsequently recovered and made a target of. 

After one of the hunts we satisfied our appetites with a 
glorious dinner, thanks to General Custer's bountiful larder 
and our own hunting successes, not to forget a good-sized 
locker which we brought from the East, and which was 
known as the " medicine - chest." One of the general's 
guests, who seemed to enjoy the good things with a gusto 
that only a hunter can feel, after getting up from dinner 
hastened to take possession of a large crate which was about 
half full of straw, and which was used for packing our earth- 
en and glass ware. Here he stretched his aching limbs, and 
was soon in a deep sleep, notwithstanding that the band was 
playing but a short distance from him. I and one or two 
others asked the general to aid us in getting up a funeral, as 
evidently our friend had gone (in dreams) to the happy hunt- 
ing-ground, or the land of Nod. The general, with rollick- 
ing glee worthy of a school-boy, entered into our plans, a pro- 
cession was formed, six stalwart troopers carried the bier, the 
guests acted as chief mourners, the band played the " Dead 
March in Saul," and the cortege advanced across the prairie. 
The motion, the music, and the ringing laughter, that might 
almost be taken for wailing, seemed to cause our sleeping 
friend to dream ; he then awakened, and stared around in 
bewilderment ; it would seem that he failed to immediately 
take in the situation, for he asked, in the most serious tone : 
" What is the matter ? What has happened ?" The general 
and his friends congratulated him on his marvellous recovery 
and his escape from a lonely grave. 

This same crockery-crate was still to be the central 
object in a joke, after the return of tlie party to the 



LEADS THE HUNT. 275 

main camp. Our guests had found out by some shrewd 
questioning that our mess chest held only six of a kind 
for setting our camp table, so they had decided to bring 
with them a supply of dishes. The crate had served 
as their packing-case. One day I remember seeing the 
empty crate the centre of a group of softly moving 
figures, stealthily lifting and carefully carrying it a lit- 
tle distance nearer the tents. Soon it was revealed 
that our guests had enlisted General Custer in another 
practical joke. One of the citizens having dined and 
wined well, had thrown himself down on the ground to 
take a nap. His sleep was either that of one who has 
a light conscience, or whose senses were steeped in that 
oblivious dream that comes from too frequent tips of 
the flowing bowl. I haven't the faintest remembrance 
who it was, so that if I account for his lethargy in this 
way I hope that I may be forgiven. A number of 
picket-pins were sharpened, and while the good diner 
slumbered the crockery- crate was carefully placed over 
him and tacked down to the baked earth. Then the 
perpetrators of this joke came under our fly to watch 
for the awakening. It was very funny, and quite worth 
the long vigil kept up while waiting the end of his 
sleep. The manner in which the imprisoned man par- 
tially arose and gazed at the twisted and knotted roof 
above him was simply convulsing to us. Then he 
kicked wildly in impatience, and endeavored to throw 
the light crate off him ; still it resisted. Finally, the 
figure of this reputable and highly respected citizen 
on his knees, scrambling and pushing and struggling 



276 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

to lift the crate by his bowed back, like a bucking 
horse, sent us into screams of laughter, and it was no 
longer possible to refuse to go to his assistance. 

When an expedition reaches the bed of a stream 
which has no water, the place is marked on the map as 
a dry camp. There is still another application of the 
term, and our guests in anticipation of this had brought 
good cheer in the locker which they called the " medi- 
cine-chest," but after that day there was pretty good 
care taken not to visit it any oftener than would leave 
a man in condition to leap from sound sleep into vigi- 
lant wakefulness. This caution was necessary by way 
of avoiding the too marked attention of those who 
pined ever for a practical joke. 

With all this merrymaking there was mingled in 
General Custer's heart a pang of sorrow for almost an 
irreparable loss ; but his own words will better convey 
his feelings : 

To give our visitors an opportunity to witness the great 
speed of the antelope and American hare, or as it is best 
known on the plains, the jack-rabbit, I took with me from 
camp about half a dozen fine stag-hounds. Foremost among 
all these was Maida, my favorite dog, the companion of all 
my long and terrible marches of last winter; she who by 
day trotted by my side, and at night shared my camp-couch. 
In the first run after buffaloes the dogs, contrary to their 
usual custom, became separated from me and accompanied 
others of the party. They soon singled out a buffalo, and 
readily brought it to bay. With little forethought or pru- 
dence, several of the hunters opened fire upon the buffalo 
while the latter was contendinpr with the dogs. Maida had 



LEADS THE HUNT. 277 

seized hold of the buffalo, and while clinging to its throat 
was instantly killed by a carbine-ball fired by some one of 
the awkward soldiers who accompanied the party. Words 
fail to express the grief occasioned by the untimely death 
of so faithful a companion. 

" Poor Maida, in life the firmest friend ; 
The first to welcome, foremost to defend ; 
Whose honest heart is still your master's own, 
Who labors, fights, lives, breathes for him alone. 
But who with me shall hold thy former place, 
Thy image what new friendship can efface? 
Best of they kind, adieu ! 
The frantic deed which laid thee low 
This heart shall ever rue^" 



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CHAPTER XIX. 



ARMY PROMOTIONS. 

One of the pleasurable excitements of garrison or 
camp life was promotion. The lucky man who had 
long lingered and anxiously balanced himself at the 
head of the list, when he at last made the final file was 
instantly surrounded by his comrades, who, after con- 
gratulating him, immediately proceeded to besiege him 
for a " spread !" They daringly suggested how he 
should celebrate, and news went flying about as if they 
were a parcel of school -boys, one calling to another, 

" Come on up ; • is going to have a ' lay out,' his 

promotion's come." 

At these celebrations we all made merry till the host 
despaired of getting rid of us. A messenger returned 
from the sutler wagons loaded with a heterogeneous 



ARMY PROMOTIONS. 279 

display, and tliongh there was so little in that meagre 
life to celebrate with, that made little difference ; it 
was only one more occasion of the many we rejoiced 
in for all to come together ; and if by chance no one 
had a pair of shoulder-straps to emphasize the accession 
to greatness, it was a chance if the host was not deco- 
rated with the insignia of rank cut out of white cotton 
and sewed on his fatigue jacket. 

In an army of twenty-five thousand soldiers on pa- 
per, and a much smaller number in reality, it was not 
strange that the wail that was loudest was the conspic- 
uous line in the old West Point song : 

"Promotion's very slow." 

The lieutenants referred ahnost everything, includ- 
ing the millennium, to the time " when I'm a captain." 
General Custer thought that the position of a captain 
was the most enjoyable and independent of all. The 
daily association with the company brings an officer 
into cordial communication with his men, and a per- 
sonal attachment is the result if the officer be just, and 
his men the better sort of soldiers. By constant ex- 
changing, or by court - martial, the company can be 
weeded of the absolutely worthless men, and by watch- 
fulness there can be all sorts of craftsmen brought into 
the troop, so that the company barracks, and the cap- 
tain's and subalterns' quarters, can be made habitable, 
no matter how dilapidated they may be, by the car- 
penter, blacksmith, painter, saddler, etc. After a high- 
er grade is reached there is very little personal com- 



280 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

munication with the enlisted man, and that hearty 
sympathy Avhich is so prized is ahnost entirely lost. 
When a man becomes a general he is removed so far 
that nearly all his intercourse with the ranks is at an 
end ; besides, he really belongs then to no one body of 
men. The esprit de corps of the regiment is at an 
end ; he really has around him only his staff and a few 
soldiers detailed from their companies for headquarters 
duty. 

Our military women, who have been proud of the 
regiment, and who have shared its marches, dangers, 
deprivations, etc., as if it were a privilege, entering into 
the domestic life of its officers and enlisted men as if 
they were all akin, are completely at sea when re- 
moved, after years, from such association. I saw Mrs. 
Miles soon after her husband's promotion to be a brig- 
adier-general. She was in Southern California, sur- 
rounded with the vineyards, rose trellises, the bloom 
and verdure of that American Italy ; but her heart was 
still longing for the women with whom she had kept 
vigil when the men were on a campaign on the bleak 
wastes of Dakota. She could not forget those men and 
women with whom she had suffered in the blizzards, 
siroccos, hurricanes, and above all the unceasing fear and 
anxiety about hostile Indians. At their last station in 
Dakota the post was built on a dreary flat plain, with 
no trees, no anything to look at but one of those curi- 
ous buttes rising directly out of the ground, the result 
of the cracking of the earth's heated surface during 
the upheavals of the far-away ages. Nothing could be 



ARMY PROMOTIONS. 281 

more hideous than this bare, uninteresting, sharp eleva- 
tion ; it was a blot upon the face of the earth ; but Mrs. 
Miles told me that instead of luxuriating among the 
flowers surrounding her, her eyes were turning back 
to those she loved, and to the spot where, though she 
had been so anxious, she still had been so happy, and 
she added, " Beiir Butte seems now the most beautiful 
thing I ever saw." 

Another woman, torn (as is the army's cruel fate) 
from those associates she valued, was asked if, after 
all those years of dearth, she did not enjoy the won- 
derful climbing roses that cover the quarters at the 
Presidio in San Francisco. Petulantly, and almost tear- 
fully, she replied, " I hate roses." And so it goes. I 
believe that military people come as near getting hap- 
piness independent of surroundings as any class of peo- 
ple I know ; but then domestic happiness is the rule in 
army life, and if there are no storms inside the quar- 
ters, what boisterous wind or rain outside is going to 
make much difference ? 

A bright woman whom I know, born in the purple, 
was courageous enough to marry out of a fashionable 
New York life into the simplicity and poverty of the 
army. It was a decade since, when Indians roamed at 
will where now a web of ^nq. Pacific Eailroads, with 
their collateral branches, spreads over the rapidly fill- 
ing plains. It took months of marching to reach the 
Pocky Mountains. Hardships could not be avoided ; 
scarcely anything but the barest necessities could be 
taken along, with the limited transportation. Still this 



282 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

belle in Gotham looked all tliis life in the face, and 
set over against her sheltered, luxurious existence the 
privilege of marrying the man of her choice, and taking 
up a career full of sacrifices. After she had experi- 
mented for a time in tliis new life, and knew its trials 
as well as its compensations, she heard some one say 
that a certain woman whom she knew had married into 
the army, and married for love. " Good heavens !" 
she exclaimed in her excitement, "what else could she 
marry for ?" 

One of the edicts which this woman could not quiet- 
ly accept was the manner in which the Government 
saw fit to arrange promotion. Until after a colonelcy 
is reached everything advances by grade. Death, dis- 
missal, resignation, and retiring from illness or from 
age are the causes that make vacancies. The bride 
tenderly reared could not reconcile herself to the calm 
calculation of officers who sat down to go over the 
list of those who ranked them, and to estimate how 
many years it would take for those in the way to 
be removed, either by Divine Providence or by dis- 
missal. With finger on the Army Register they dis- 
posed of one after another in something after this fash- 
ion: Such a one "will *hand in his chips' soon if he 
don't leave John Barleycorn alone." Such and such 
a one " is going under from disease contracted during 
the war, or from an old wound." A third " has had a 
fortune left him, and he will ' light out ' for civil life 
soon." Still another " beo^ins to totter with as^e and im- 
becility, and can't sit a horse any longer ; he will be re- 



ARMY PROMOTIONS. 283 

tired shortly." Of another who was constantly being 
tried it was said, " Some court-martial will get him yet 
and send him flying." 

The new-comer listened to all this calculating of 
chances as to vacancies and promotions with outraged 
feelings ; but her horror culminated when her own hus- 
band, a lieutenant, rushed into the quarters one day per- 
forming a can-can, swinging his cap, and calling out to 
her in glee, " Fan, such and such a ship has gone down 
at sea, so and so is lost, and I'm a captain." I laughed 
till the tears came, to see her face as she told me of this 
shock to her sensibilities, and of her astonishment to 
think that her own husband could manifest such ap- 
parent heartlessness ; and even though all this occurred 
years ago, she became rigid with indignation at the rec- 
ollection. 

I felt with her most keenly, and could not become 
accustomed to the manner in which news of the death 
of an officer at some other post was met. The officers 
said, if they liked him, " Poor fellow ! I'm sorry he's 
gone " ; but the inevitable question that followed was, 
" Whom will it promote ?" The Army Register was at 
once in requisition, and the file looked up. Still I think 
that apparent momentary want of feeling is no worse 
than the manner in which civilians receive the news of 
a man's demise by asking, " Did he leave any money ?'* 

A law that has gone into effect within the last few 
years, retiring an officer at sixty-two years of age, does 
away with the somewhat unseemly haste with which 
the rank of an officer dying was looked up, for the 



284 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

reckoning is all made out long before the period of re- 
tirement approaches ; and a very good estimate in many- 
instances can be obtained by a man waiting for his pro- 
motion, by summing up the length of service or age of 
officers who are near or at the head of the list. Even 
now there occurs a calculation that verges on cruelty, 
for one of my friends, who was recovering from the 
lingering fever that invaded our ranks at the South, 
nearly went into a relapse at sight of the pencil-marks 
of a brother officer — fortunately a man of a type that 
is not common among our warm-hearted military men. 
The doors of the quarters of most military posts stand 
invitingly open, and an entrance, if closed, is rarely 
locked, so the invalid feebly made his way into adjoin- 
ing quarters, and sat down by the table to rest and 
await the return of the occupant. The open Army 
Register^ always more fascinating to an officer than a 
novel, attracted him. Name after name was either 
marked out or had annotations explaining causes why 
there was uncertainty about the person remaining in 
service ; but, to his anger and disgust, there was no 
query-mark opposite his ; the neighbor, calculating on 
his death, had already drawn a line through the entire 
name. Slamming the book shut, he left with far more 
vigor than he had entered, and from that time on he 
determined to get well. 

During our war officers were often overslaughed, 
and this setting aside of the old rule of promotion by 
file rankled in the heart of an officer whom we knew. 
He was irreproachable on duty, but once inside his quar- 



AKMY PROMOTIONS. 285 

ters lie brooded over liis wrongs until he was almost 
frenzied with anger, and wild sounds of an upraised 
voice, and the clatter and thumps of disturbed furni- 
ture, slamming doors, etc., penetrated the walls ; in gar- 
rison, where the houses are so near each other, it w^as 
impossible to ignore the turmoil. An officer entering 
to inform himself regarding the disturbance found a 
farce going on, that he quietly witnessed, and after- 
wards as quietly withdrew from, for the subject that 
brought on the fracas was one that produced too lively 
sympathy in a brother officer to induce him to inter- 
fere. The overslaughed man had called a number of 
chairs by the name of each of the officers who had 
jumped him in promotion. Addressing them individ- 
ually by their old title, and calling himself by the rank 
he should have had if promotion had gone on regular- 
ly, he said : " You will rank Colonel So-and-so " (calling 
his own name), " will you ? Well, I'll see," and imme- 
diately kicked the chair out of the room. Each chair 
suffered the same fate, and when the room was empty 
the incensed man banged the door, and sat down, with 
a sigh of satisfaction, to get back his breath and to 
cool off. 

I still think, as I have said before, that there is no 
profession with such drawbacks to ambition as the 
army. 'No amount of merit, not even years of constant 
successful achievement, can give an officer the slightest 
promotion. In other professions the winner leaps over 
the heads of his contestants. In military life the way 
of an ambitious man is often clogged by an officer just 



286 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

above him who has ciphered out the problem of do- 
ing only the barest necessary duties, and lie frequent- 
ly gets himself into such a beaten path that he goes 
through the form loaded with liquor, which leaves his 
knees a little uncertain and wobbly, but he preserves 
sufficient intellect, befogged as it is, to pass muster. I 
believe in belonging to a profession where every one 
knows that in striving for mastery there is no impedi- 
ment to gaining the reward of success, and where, if 
one is gifted or persevering, he can leap over the dull 
or indifferent to a higher rung in the ladder. 

Another excitement besides the promotion of an offi- 
cer w\as the advent of the paymaster. If the country 
over which he had to travel would admit of it, he came 
every two months ; and money, even out there in that 
desert, where there was little chance to use it except 
for the prosaic necessities of life, had much the same 
effect on every one as it has in the States. The officers 
often found roll-call a farce for a day or two, as the 
soldiers drew their pay and slid off around the quarters 
to the sutler's store, or waited till nightfall and went in 
groups to the little collection of gin-shops usually just 
outside the confines of the reservation, and invariably 
called a city, even if there were but six huts. If their 
comrades brought the drunkest of them home they hid 
them until the next day, and a sorrier sight than those 
bruised, pallid, broken-up men after a tipsy brawl can- 
not be imagined. I know that citizens will ask why 
is not drunkenness abolished in the service, but they 
must go out to our posts, and see the material of which 



ARMY PKOMOTIONS. 287 

our army is composed, before they judge the question. 
Certainly the best efforts of the most earnest and hon- 
orable men I have ever known were brought to bear 
on this question, and it is still an unsolved problem. 

I should be the last to say our ranks were filled up 
with failures — I who am so indebted to the enlisted 
men for protection and a hundred kindnesses ; and be- 
sides, do I not know well w^hat superb soldiers they 
were in time of battle or in the hour of peril and 
emergency — even these very ones who celebrated pay- 
day with a brawl ? If there could be a country where 
no whiskey was ever imported, and to which the pay- 
master never came, there would not be the difficulty 
that exists ; but fortunately all the money in the pos- 
session of the easily tempted men changed hands soon, 
and peace reigned until the two months were up. 

The paymasters of our army get little honorable 
mention of their service, Avhich, in the Territories, is 
often very perilous. They have for many years trav- 
elled with comparatively small escorts through the 
most hotly contested of the Indian country, and as the 
railroads were being built and the towns laid out, a 
class of outlaws were the first to populate them. These 
desperadoes followed and robbod the paymaster unless 
the utmost vigilance was observed. On the open plain 
the escort could guard against an attack, but where a 
mountain defile was entered, or a canon was being 
crossed, or the way lay through the Bad Lands, behind 
whose columnar buttes many Indians might hide or 
desperadoes lie in wait, the danger was often very 



288 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

o-reat. Part of the escort dismounted and were de- 
ployed in advance of the ambuLances containing the 
paymaster and his travelling outfit, and the drivers and 
officer himself rode over these dangerous routes with 
rifles in hand. 

We often entertained the paymaster, and on one oc- 
casion I remember that he was going to luncheon with 
General Custer and me. Suddenly the innocent little 
valise that he carried attracted our attention, and Gen- 
eral Custer asked me if I would mind staying in our 
room with it until the paymaster was through with his 
luncheon. Certainly I did not mind, but I was curious, 
of course. What daughter of Eve would not be ? How- 
ever, I shut myself in, and after a little I divined what 
this mysterious seclusion meant. One woman out of 
all those hundreds of men was sitting up there on 
guard over from fifty to seventy thousand dollars in 
bills, for it took fully that to pay officers, soldiers, and 
quartermaster's employes. 



IRctreat. 




^^iiii^igi^^^t^l 



CHAPTER XX. 



A FLOOD ON BIG CREEK. 

Bright and joyous as were tliose summer days on 
Big Creek, it was not all sunshine as to weather. The 
rainy season in the spring and early summer kept us 
in a damp, moist, unpleasant state, but after that was 
ended we had few showers. Whatever Kansas did was 
with a rush ; the lightning was more terrific than light- 
ning elsewhere, the rain poured down in floods, and 
the wind blew hurricanes. In the years that have since 
elapsed, the breaking of the soil into farms, and the 
planting of crops and trees, have materially changed 
the order of things. Our experience was in the tem- 
pestuous times, and we were always expecting some 
sudden announcement of Mother Kature, who did not 
propose to treat us to anything like a gentle shower, 
or a soft south wind that might be trying to " blow up 
19 



290 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

rain." Everything came with a mighty "whew !" and 
we knew enough to rush our j)roperty into the tents, 
and begin to fortify, when that ominous vibrating of 
the upper branches of the cotton -wood trees began. 
The soldiers in charge of headquarters came witli axes 
to drive down the picket-pins ; the ropes were tighten- 
ed, and the straps that secured tlie opening all tightly 
buckled. 

I remember being thus strapped in one day, and 
thanking the sergeant, telHng him that he need not 
stay as I was "all right"; but I was, in fact, anything 
but all right, for I was speechless with fear wlien the 
storm began. I would not call to Eliza, for she would 
get wet coming to me ; General Custer w^as in another 
part of the camp, and I saw my fate was to brave the 
hurricane alone. I concluded to take up as secure a 
place as I could, and await the catastro^^he wdiich seem- 
ed inevitable. The lightning on the plains is omni- 
present; it is such a continuous glare that the whole 
heavens seem a vast sheet of flame. I could not accus- 
tom myself to it, and as long as we lived out there 
each storm was a new terror to me. In a tent it is im- 
possible to hide one's eyes from the flashes. To add 
to my terrors, immense hailstones pelted down on the 
cotton roof with such savage force that I believed 
no canvas could withstand their fury. My last look 
through the opening was at a deserted camp, the whole 
command, having gone out of sight into their tents. 
When I believed myself condemned to meet fate alone, 
a quick tugging at the straps began, and General Cus- 



A FLOOD ON BIG CREEK. 291 

ter leaped into the aperture, drenched with the storm. 
I came out from under the bed, where I had laken up 
what I tliought a safe position, and began, woman-like, 
to question why he had ventured into such danger. 
He had remembered my terror of lightning, and had 
made a rush over the unprotected parade-ground, with 
the hailstones pounding down on him like a shower of 
lead. Such hail no one out there had ever seen be- 
fore. The Smithies measured many of the hailstones 
that day, and the average was from an inch to an inch 
and a half through. Captain Smith made a dash for 
home from the grazing-ground, his horse running at 
a fearful pace, with a little dog yelping with pain from 
the pelting he got following at his heels. Lumps which 
were tender to the touch for days afterwards were 
raised on the captain's head. 

The pitiful part of it was the unprotected condi- 
tion of the horses ; they had to endure all the violence 
of the elements, with no shelter. It was strange how 
wonderfully sleek, fat, and well they kept if there 
w^ere no hard marches to wear them down. The pro- 
longed storms of the rainy season did not appear to 
reduce them. They seemed to think their home, the 
picket rope, gave them every luxury. We were often 
amused to see the whole number out grazing volun- 
tarily start home when a few drops of rain fell. They 
either ran up to the picket rope, or made those teeter- 
ing and awkward leaps that a hobbled animal makes ; 
and when the rope was reached they seemed to feel 
themselves as secure as if within the driest of stables. 



292 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

There was one especial storm that I have cause to 
remember, for it came near being as serious as the 
one described in Tenting on the Plains the summer be- 
fore, when lives were lost. One lovely day, with an 
azure sky and soft velvety wind that seemed to blow 
from the Arcady of the poets, I sat under the fly of 
our tent, reading, or living that dolce far niente ex- 
istence which camp-life induces, when tlie air sudden- 
ly chilled, and I felt sure the change was some sort of 
a weather precursor. It was one of the vagaries of the 
Kansas climate that delighted in sudden alternations 
from summer to winter. After I had put on a wrap 
I sat down to await the next change. It was not long 
before the sky dulled, and an ominous roar came rum- 
bling over the plains — " a voice of the noise of rain." 
Then I ran off to find Henry, and tell him that I fear- 
ed a freshet. He confirmed my fears by telhng me 
the water had "been on the rise right smart of time 
already." I left him^ to go to the headquarters ser- 
geant, and ask him quietly to prepare for what I be- 
lieved would be a terrible storm, and come to me if it 
began to rain. He was so accustomed to these fright- 
ened confidences of mine when terror overtook me that 
he was willing to come even if he himself thought it 
was only a " woman's notion." If in the military rec- 
ommendation that General Custer wrote out for him 
I had been permitted to add a line, it would not have 
been official ; it would only have been my testimony to 
his capability of making a good husband, he was such 
a patient man with a woman's fears. 



A FLOOD ON BIG CREEK. 293 

When I came back to the fly General Custer looked 
up from his absorption in his book, and asked me where 
I had been. I temporized, for I did not like to admit 
that I was already scared before a drop of rain had 
fallen. He persisted, and finding out my agitation, as- 
sured me that I was foolish, that we were a good dis- 
tance from the creek, that I need not be disturbed yet. 
I argued that our camp being on such a loop of land, 
the stream might cut a channel across the narrow part, 
and leave us on an island exactly as the little knot of 
men were cut off the summer before. Time enough 
to prepare for that, he replied ; and not realizing the 
genuineness of my trepidation, he strolled off across the 
parade-ground to practise shots on the billiard -table 
that the sutler had put in the hall the soldiers built 
for their amusement. With the remembrance of what 
Big Creek could do in the way of a rise — for measure- 
ments the summer before proved that it went up an 
inch a minute — I prepared for what might come, and 
threw our few camp garments into the trunk, heaped 
the chairs, etc., on the table, tied down the window- 
flap at the rear, and sat down to watch the clouds. It 
seemed but a few moments before the sky darkened, 
and the shriek and whistle of the keen wind came over 
the prairie, and twisted the leaves and branches of our 
few protecting trees, cracking the dry twigs and break- 
ing the exposed branches. Meanwhile the stream was 
beginning to tear along, carrying with it underbrush, 
logs, and saplings attached to great clumps of earth still 
held together by the net-work of roots. The sergeant 



294 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

and his men were soon all activity, and Henry ran 
hither and tliither, intent on the horses' safety. 

With the roar of the storm coming over the track- 
less waste beyond ns at sixty miles an hour came big 
drops of rain and great clouds of dust. How I wished 
that we had a " dugout " in the side of tlie bank ! 
Finally a wall of rain advanced towards us, cutting as 
clear a swath as it came as if it had marked out the 
path in advance. Whether it was due to water-spouts 
or to cloud-bursts we did not know; but there was 
some mighty power behind all that sudden change 
from sunshine to storm. No ordinary progress of 
nature's laws produced the startling transformation. 

Not long since Eliza, the dear, faithful friend of 
those days, came to pay me a visit from her Oliio 
home, and in talking over the happy past she recalled 
the storm ; the description was so characteristic that 
I shall give it : '' The first notion that I had of the 
creek risin' was a crash, and things come tumblin' and 
knockin' against my tent. It had a wood floor, and it 
began to ride up and down, and out floated the things, 
and I dragged my trunk and all the cookin' utensils I 
could get hold of up on the hill-side. Then my tent 
cut loose from the moorin's. Big trees and roots and 
parts of cabins and a wash-stand and a bed-tick from a 
settler's place up near the fort came a-tearin' down by. 
It was all in a minute. My shoes and stockin's was 
off, and I was a-wadin' around catchin' hold of my 
cookin' things and holdin' in a long pole to gather in 
the half -drowned chickens. I was a heap more con- 



A FLOOD ON BIG CREEK. 295 

cerried about mj kitchen things than I was about my 
clothes. Those wind-storms come so sudden ! They 
w^ould just tear up everything, and while we was 
a-strivin' to save the beddin' and tins from the water 
the wind w^as twistin' the tent and whirlin' all sorts of 
things around our head. Well, the ginnel he come 
a-fiyin' home then, and I says to him, ' There is goin' to 
be a big storm ;' and he says ' Yes,' and sent right off for 
the men to drive the picket-pins in and tighten the 
ropes. My tent was so nice ; but dear me ! I heard the 
tins and the iron tilings a-rattlin', and the ginnel said, 
*You needn't be afraid; there's no danger of your tent 
a-goin'.' It was down under the hill a bit, and I tell 
you it did go, though. Tin pans, buckets, fryin'-pans, 
all tumbled and pitched about in a heap, and the 
tent was lifted on high and blown away off on the 
parade-ground for good. Such a gatherin' ! — such a 
gatherin' as I had of the things ; and then the ginnel 
w^ould stand and holler to me while I was a-pickin' 
them up and say, 'How long before dinner?' when 1 
hadn't one thing to get dinner with, nor even a sliver 
of dry wood. I jest raised my head wdiile I was 
a-clutchin' for the things knee-deep in water, and said, 
* Ginnel, don't you say dinner to me !' " 

Meanwhile Henry was not idle ; his horses were his 
anxiety. He told me when I saw him last that the 
night succeeding the storm which I have described, 
after the tempest had subsided a little and we had 
gathered our scattered belongings together and set 
Eliza up in another tent on dry land, he was awakened 



296 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

by a great rumbling in the brush and trees. His tent 
was only fifty feet from the water : " I sprang from 
my bed, which was on four-foot stakes, right out into 
three feet of water. The night was very dark, and I 
raised the alarm ; the general was as quick as a flash 
out of his tent and had the whole regiment standing 
ready for duty to remove camp in case the water 
broke over the banks. When I got to my horses they 
were almost ready to strike a swim, as the water only 
had to rise six inches more to break all over the camp. 
All the plunder was loaded on the wagons, and it had 
to stay loaded for over twelve hours before the water 
began to fall, and after it did fall the bridge at the fort 
fell, and there was no way to get supplies." Henry, 
after all this excitement, was completely disgusted with 
the Kansas climate. When I talked with him as he 
stayed by the water taking measurements on a stick to 
watch the rising of the stream, he acknowledged that 
he was tired of roughing it. " You see. Miss Libbie," 
he said, "Manda — that's the yellow girl that used to 
take care of Mrs. Card's baby — and me is going to be 
married, and she couldn't no more stand what you 
does than anything, so I must go ; and I think as you 
have relatives in Topeka, like as not you and the gen- 
eral would be a-coming there and I should see you, so 
I am thinking of living there. Why, Miss Libbie, the 
times I've been washed out here this summer I can't 
count, but if you and the general can manage to pitch 
my tent on a boat I can stay." 

Our tent had three feet of water in it during the 



A FLOOD ON BIG CREEK. 297 

next day, and I sat a long time in the travelling wagon, 
in the midst of a collection of household possessions 
that almost buried me. The horses were harnessed, 
ready to be put to the wagon at the first intimation 
that the water had risen above the danger line. The 
hens, becoming almost human from intimate associa- 
tion and sharing hardships, were roosting on the tongue, 
or pecked at the grass under the wagon, while the dogs 
leaped in and out over me, and over the traps, all day. 
It was an unending day, for we could do nothing but 
wait and watch, but fortunately the rain had ceased. 
In the afternoon, fearing another cloud-burst, tents 
were sent out of camp to the divide that sloped gradu- 
ally from the stream, and we slept there. Eliza had 
found a little wood, and putting it under her blankets 
at night to keep it dry, was able to make our breakfast 
for us. 

The Smithies meanwhile were in equal dilemma, for 
their tent was also near the stream, though not so close 
to it as ours. They rose in the morning and found the 
water was rising very fast, but thought they might 
get breakfast before it rose higher. The stream had 
then reached to within a foot of the tent. When they 
came out from breakfast they were obliged to jump 
across a stream that had flowed over the grass during 
breakfast. Then they began to pack their traps. A 
detail from the company went down to the dining- 
tent, and lifted the table, just as it stood, with all the 
dishes onto the higher ground. The water increased 
so rapidly that the tent was in danger of being swept 



298 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

away, and Tiittle, their man, swam out to loosen the 
ropes. After this the luggage was bundled into the 
wagon, and the Smithies went to higher ground. 

When the water subsided we Avere all anxious to get 
back to our tents and begin home life again. Every- 
thing in our place was soaked. My trunk had stood 
almost entirely under water during the storm, and the 
bedding w^as musty and moist. A bright sun helped 
us, and soon all we had was flying in the Kansas 
breeze. The whole camp became a perfect sea of float- 
ing pennants, while horse - blankets waved from the 
picket line like a brown cloud. The same wind that 
had blown itself into a hurricane now turned about 
and atoned for its rage by drying our clothes. In my 
eagerness to possess our home again I went back to 
the damp tent too soon, and soon fell ill with a fever, 
which continued long enough to prove that the oldest 
veteran, who may be proof against the active drench- 
ing of a storm, is likely to succumb if careless enough 
to sleep in a thoroughly soaked bed. 



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CHAPTER XXI. 

RATTLESNAKES AS NEIGHBOES. 

Before I close the story of our summer I would 
like to write of some of the neighbors about us whom 
we thought altogether too neighborly. The rattle- 



300 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

snakes of the plains have been much written about by 
Western editors, but they can scarcely have too elabo- 
rate English expended on them ; they were every- 
where, and it was almost impossible to exaggerate the 
numbers of them that surrounded us. Our camp soon 
became too much of a thoroughfare to make it safe for 
a snake to dispute the territory, and the soldiers going 
back and forth on duty, the dogs constantly racing over 
every inch of the ground, the servants perpetually trav- 
elling to and fro from the cook tent to ours, protected 
us in the immediate vicinity of our habitation ; but 
the moment we rode out of camp over the plains 
the reptiles appeared, sometimes gliding away, often 
coiled for a spring, occasionally torpid, and gorged 
with a toad or a bird which they had swallowed whole, 
and which went down slowly, distending and distorting 
their sides. There was no trouble with our horses in 
the matter of ceding to the snakes the right of way, 
but it was surprising that they showed so little fear of 
them. 

It seems to need the support of the commanding 
general of all the United States forces to fortify any 
one who begins to talk about this subject. Snake 
stories, like the tales of fishermen, must always, on the 
part of the listener, be heard with a spirit of combative- 
ness. People square themselves for a fight, and are 
ready to dispute step by step the progress of a stor3\ 
It was, therefore, with genuine pleasure at the privi- 
lege of listening to so good a talker, but with an atom 
of exultation, that I heard General Sherman hold forth 



RATTLESNAKES AS NEIGHBORS. 301 

on our plains rattlesnakes. To begin with, the wild- 
est spinner of yarns can scarcely say too much on the 
subject. The snakes swarmed over the route of our 
march ; they lined the way when we went for a hunt or 
a pleasure ride. General Sherman, replying to a wom- 
an's question, "And were not the soldiers often bit- 
ten ?" replied that they were seldom fatally injured, as 
they were instructed as recruits by their officers, the 
surgeons, and the veteran soldiers how to protect them- 
selves in case of the fatal sting. It is found that the 
snake throws itself about tliree times its own length 
from where it is coiled for a spring. 'Not being able, 
therefore, to strike its fangs in higher than the calf of 
the leg, the trousers often absorb a portion of the poi- 
son. If the surgeon is near, he applies ammonia to the 
wound, and stupefies the injured man with liquor. The 
whiskey is poured down as fast as the man can swallow ; 
this, retarding the circulation, prevents the blood-vessels 
from carrying the poison to the vitals. 

The part of General Sherman's conversation that 
touched me was his tribute to the affection and devo- 
tion of the j)rivate soldier. If the surgeon is too far 
away to be reached, the soldier resorts to his homely 
devices to save his comrade's life. A bit of buffalo 
bone is used to scrape and irritate the flesh about the 
wound, and cause a flow of blood outwardly. One of 
the men, if he happens not to have an abrasion on the 
lips, stoops instantly to draw the poison from the places 
where the fangs have entered. There is never a lack 
of offers among those fearless devoted men to suck 



302 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

into their own moiitlis the deadly fluid. If ammonia 
is not to be had, they seek the black mud which forms 
the baked surface of a sun-dried buffalo wallow. Wet- 
ting it, and applying this to the wound, enough am- 
monia is extracted to aid the cure. Then — ah ! I know 
all this myself, because I have been among our self-sac- 
rificing soldiers out there, and have been taught many 
a lesson of generosity and devotion ; they either watch 
over their wounded comrade till he is restored, or if he 
be sunk into drunken lethargy, they lift him into an 
army wagon as carefully as the experienced surgeon 
and hospital nurse remove an injured man from our 
city pavement to the ambulance. 

This reminds me of one of our surgeons. Dr. B. J. D. 
Irwin, of our army, General Custer's warm personal 
friend. I remember the pleasure with which he dis- 
covered, at our first post at Fort Riley, a weed that he 
had not supposed grew there, which was an antidote for 
a snake bite. He held tliis little ugly scrap of vegeta- 
tion in his hand as if he had in his possession a rare 
work of art, and breaking the stem, from which exuded 
the thick white sap, he gave me so animated a descrip- 
tion of what cures it would effect, and of what benefit 
this discovery was to suffering humanity, that I was as 
pervaded with his spirit as if I knew the blessed art of 
the healer. It was to him that I was indebted for ray 
first insight into the fervor and enthusiasm of his pro- 
fession, and the generous manner in which their dis- 
coveries are given to the world. He had written a pa- 
per, after making this successful investigation on a tour 



KATIXESNAKES AS NEIGHBORS. 303 

of duty in l^ew Mexico, tliat there might be no delay 
in the use of this life-saving weed. 

Our army surgeons have contributed a good deal to 
the learning of their profession, and yet how quietly ! 
When the civilian doctor makes his successful experi- 
ments, he rarely is without rewards, often of a financial 
character, and he always receives the tribute of admira- 
tion from his professional brethren, from whom he hears 
personal acknowledgments on the street, at conven- 
tions, clubs, and the city hospitals. Our army surgeons 
experiment, study, practice in their distant hospitals, or 
in the field, and when they give some valuable discov- 
ery in science to their fellow -workers over the world 
they add nothing to their limited incomes, and the voice 
of applause is very faint when it reaches the isolated 
post where they live out their valuable lives. 

My admiration of them — working as they must with- 
out the reward of wealth or the sound, sweet to every 
one, of deserved praise — must be my apology for leaving 
General Sherman and the snakes. His sense of humor 
made him stop in his descriptions, which are the result 
of his many years' experience, to tell one of his Eastern 
hearers that the Seventh Cavalry had to move out of a 
dugout on account of the snakes. The dugout, he ex- 
plained, is a hole in the side of a gulch or slough ; 
around the four sides the men lay a low wall of turf, 
leaving an entrance framed by a hardtack box ; over 
the piled-up sods the boughs of trees are laid as a roof, 
and on this dirt is heaped until it can hardly be dis- 
tinguished from the ground around it. In this fortress 



304 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

made of such materials as are snjDplied by mother-earth 
(barring the cracker-box door) he had known four men 
defend themselves against hundreds of Indians, as they 
stood on the dirt floor, only lifting themselves to the 
loop-hole in order to fire. But, he continued, when the 
Indians failed to dislodge them, and rode away dis- 
couraged, the rattlesnake succeeded. It was easy for 
them to crawl into the loop-holes, which were on a level 
with the surface of the plain, and short work to go on 
down into the blankets of the troopers. The general 
says they dearly love warmth. Finally, he added, the 
Seventh Cavalry grew discouraged, and made a bargain 
with the snakes, giving them the original dugout, while 
they went to work, patientl}^, to burrow themselves into 
another, and it was no easy thing, with few and jDoor 
tools, to get a hole excavated large enough to give shel- 
ter and safety to even a handful of soldiers. 

When General Sherman began to speak of the sol- 
diers utilizing the rattlesnake as food, his semicircle of 
women-listeners raised their hands in protest. I re- 
joiced to hear him speak of it, feeling sure he would 
fortify me in what I have already said, or intend to, 
about General Custer's experiments in that gastronom- 
ic feat. He says that when the rattlesnake pokes his 
head out of the prairie-dog hole, where he has invited 
himself to live, without giving the architect of his home 
a voice in the matter, the watching, hungry soldier clips 
the snake's head oli with his sabre, and, skinning him, 
gets as good a dinner by broiling him over the coals of a 
camp-fire as if he had an eel. I know that they often 



RATTLESNAKES AS NEIGIIBOKS. 305 

did tliis ; and, after all, what difference does it make 
to that d evil-ma j-care trooper how he possesses himself 
of that which will vary his salt pork and hardtack? 
Besides, do we not remember our child-stories of the 
giants and hobgoblins, and how, when they encounter- 
ed any one they hated, they were made to say, " I'll eat 
you?" Surely it is a most effectual way of disposing 
of an enemy, especially a reptile that retains life in 
portions of his wriggling body when one part is cleft 
entirely from the other. 

General Custer was the first among our officers to 
experiment on the rattlesnake as an entree. A scout 
told him how fine, juicy, and white the meat was, and 
straightway he tried it. The first difficulty was with 
the soldier cook. He was absolutely devoted to Gen- 
eral Coster, and not only obedient to orders, but stud- 
ied or anticipated what he might wish ; but when his 
chief took a fine fat rattlesnake to his cook-tent, and 
gave directions to serve it, the man, really believing 
some mistake had been made, ventured to reply, " But 
it's a rattlesnake !" When answered in the affirmative, 
the obedient soldier accepted the situation, but was 
sure that the light of reason had fled forever from his 
chief. Still, sure that it was his duty to serve a crazy 
master as he would a sane one, lie prepared the dish 
that had been ordered. While General Custer was eat- 
ing the meat, which, he said, separated from the bones 
readily, and was as white and delicate as that of a 
young quail, he saw the distended eyes of the alarmed 
cook cautiously peering in through a crack of the 
20 



306 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

tent, doubtless expecting that lie would drop down in 
a fit. 

Once, when General Custer was dining in Xew York 
with that epicu]-e Mr. Sam Ward, the conversation 
turned on rare dishes, and Mr. Ward, having dined in 
all countries, and being able probably to giv^e an ex- 
pert opinion on a greater variety of food than is known 
to any other gourmet of our day, offered it as his be- 
lief that our natures partake of the characteristics of 
whatever fish, flesh, or fowl we eat. General Custer's 
eyes twinkled when he told me that he thought he 
gave a poser when he asked him, '' What effect would 
the rattlesnake have on a fellow ?" Strange to say, 
Mr. Ward had never known that these reptiles were 
eaten either by Christian or savage. 

One of our officers, to whom I have before referred, 
was terribly afraid of snakes. When a child one had 
wrapped itself about his body, and so unnerved him 
that he never regained his courage. Every one laugh- 
ed at him, no one lost an opportunity to tease him ; 
but, being a fearless rider, hunter, and fighter, he could 
afford to endure the taunts of his comrades. He had 
the advantage of a record for dauntless courage to back 
him. 

Among our collection of pets was a strange little 
owl that had been dug out of a hole, where it and the 
rattlesnake and prairie-dog lived in a kind of co-oper- 
ative house -keeping. Katuralists insist that there is 
no "happy-family" arrangement in this; that the rat- 
tlesnake is an intruder, and that he returns hospitality 



KATTLESNAKES AS NEIGHBORS. 307 

by eating a young prairie-dog for breakfast occasion- 
ally. But tlie fact of their living together our soldiers 
proved over and over again. The soldier who gave the 
owl to General Custer showed him this family group, 
after he had dug down to the hole the prairie-dog had 
prepared. It was a wonder to me how the strange 
partnership came about. The prairie-dog always made 
the home ; but whether the snake came in and possess- 
ed the land, or why the owl was rash enough to creep 
into this deep excavation, were questions that no one 
had been able to answer satisfactorily. The owl which 
we had made a sound so like the noise of the rattle- 
snake that no one could distinguish between them. 
The water-bucket, as a protection against the obtru- 
siveness of the dogs, had a cover fitted upon it. But 
for this precaution not a drop of water w^ould have been 
left for the toilet. As there was no box convenient, the 
owl was placed in the empty bucket. A favorite trick 
was purposely to occupy every seat, the bed and chairs, 
etc., as the officer who so hated snakes approached the 
tent. Then he was welcomed effusively, which alone 
ought to have warned him of mischief. The bucket 
being the only seat vacant, and he not knowing of this 
trick of the owl, of course took it ; but the way in 
which he bounded into space when the disturbed little 
bird began to make the sound of the snake called forth 
shrieks of laughter. He was one of the athletes of the 
regiment, and the involuntary leap into the air was 
far better jumping than he did when he tried to ac- 
complish some competitive feat at our famous trials 



308 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

of agility, strengtli, and speed at Foiirtli-of-July and 
other holiday celebrations, in which most of the officers 
joined. 

But all this continual joking was drawing to a close ; 
for though in winter -quarters the merriment contin- 
ues, there is a degree of privacy attainable when one 
has walls to one's house, while in camp there is none. 
Through the thin cotton walls of a camp habitation 
men called out to each other very pointed remarks 
about snoring, or too much " chinning," as they said, 
when they wanted to slee]). From the intimate com- 
panionship there was no escape, and so the smallest 
fragment of a joke was apt to be worked up into some- 
thing really amusing. 

We could not but regret, when October came, that 
our happy summer was coming to an end ; it had been 
such a peaceful time for our tired-out regiment. It is 
true the Indians had hovered round us to threaten, but 
they belonged to another department north ; the south- 
ern tribes were only too glad to stay at home that year 
after their severe whipping the winter before. The 
plains were dear to us because of the happy hours 
spent there. Sometimes we sighed for hills, and occa- 
sionally for rocks, but our next thought was one of grat- 
itude that the monotonous surface prevented us from 
being reminded by quack advertisements that we had 
livers. Indeed, out there, with the pure air and active 
life, we might be obliged to admit that we had the or- 
gan for the cure of which a nostrum was recommend- 
ed, but it was a silent partner. Every one was well, 



KATTLESNAKES AS NEIGHBORS. 309 

except when ill in consequence of some actual trifling 
with splendid health. The orioles that sang in the trees 
above our tents were not more contented than we. It 
was absolutely a trial to pack and start for garrison at 
Fort Leavenworth, where we must abandon our un- 
conventional life, dress for dinner, struggle with back 
hair, and try to get our complexions into condition 
again. 

Some of our officers had one bright outlook — they 
would at last have quarters for their families, and could 
begin domestic life again. The men with sweethearts 
were going home on leave. The fathers talked of their 
children, and wondered if they would recognize the 
bronzed and bearded "paternal." We heard the oft- 
repeated tales of their brightness, and even now, think- 
ing over those youngsters, they seem to have been very 
clever and precocious. Two tiny little urchins were 
fighters from the start. Coming into the world with 
their fists doubled up, they kept them closed most of 
the time when circumstances threw them with each 
other. The officers, in a spirit of mischief, incited the 
elder to " go for " the younger. They were too young 
to do each other harm. I can now see Davie coming 
down in front of the quarters, his legs full of swagger, 
his tiny face red with rage. Jumping on my godson, 
George Yates, he pounded and pommelled the two-year- 
and-a-half boy for a few brief moments ; but the smaller 
of the two rolling uppermost, kept the top place, and 
returned the civilities offered. Then the young offi- 
cers — who, not being fathers, did not look upon this fisti- 



310 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

cuff as serious — applauded the winner. The under boy 
in the fight crawled out, and while he ran bawling to his 
mother this little son of a very brave father shrieked 
threateningly, in the borrowed language of the fron- 
tiersman, " Got a pistol in my boot !" His little fat legs 
with *' low-necked stockings" (as another bright dot 
dubbed his socks) and the small kid shoes looked any- 
thing but warlike. This same George, when he went 
into the States, and was teased by the children, knew no 
better threat in retaliation than to say, " I'll put you 
in the guard-house, I will," which was Choctaw to the 
civilian children, as they did not know a prison was 
ever called a guard-house. 

The son of one of my friends came in to his mother 
one day, and said that he had been beaten and kicked 
by another boy. "Well, what are you going to do 
about it?" said his military mother; " you are not going 
to let him get the better of you, are you ?" The little 
son, possibly six years old, not more, replied, energet- 
ically, "No, you bet I'm not." " Well, then, after sup- 
per go out and find him, and I don't expect you to 
come in with any story of being worsted in this af- 
fair." 

All this had gone from the mother's mind until after 
dinner, when, without explanation, he came to her 
again, and asked if he should change his clothes. 
"Why?" she queried. "Because these might get all 
bloody ;" and then she remembered that it was the 
time appointed for the thrashing of his tormentor. 

One of the officers, in pride over his four-year-old. 



KATTLESNAKES AS NEIGHBORS. 311 

gave me a description of the tales of the war his son 
demanded. He had repeated and repeated the same 
stories time and time again, not being permitted a varia- 
tion by the exacting child, who knew them all by heart. 
He said : " The story is a little rough on me ; but if any 
one knows a child, he knows that he wants a plentiful 
sprinkling of I's, and nothing told in the third person. 
So I kept on as he demanded, until one day he looked 
up in my face and said, * And, father, couldn't you get 
any one to help you put down the rebellion ?' " Instead 
of tiring of the cunning speeches of the little fel- 
lows, we usually asked, as each officer received a let- 
ter, ''Well, what has ' Guy,' or ' Davie,' or ' George,' or 
' Freddie ' been getting off now ?" And then the mis- 
sives that devoted husbands carried in their inside 
pockets were brought out, and some clever speech of 
the child, written by the fond mother, was read aloud 
to us. 

Before " Taps" sounds I must not neglect to explain 
one of the calls that fortunately is rarely used. It is 
the " Kogue's March :" 

"Poor old soldier, poor old soldier, 
Tarred and feathered and sent to " — 

something that rhymes with 

"Because be would not soldier well." 

Court-martial is the usual mode of settling all irreg- 
ularities, and sentence is pronounced, such as imprison- 
ment, loss of pay, reducing a non-commissioned officer 



312 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

to the ranks, etc. Sometimes, however^ the soldier is 
so absolutely incorrigible and worthless that he is sen- 
tenced to lose his hair, and is drummed out of camp. 
While I was at Leavenworth I saw the execution of 
this order. The soldier's head was as blue and bald as 
close shaving could make it, and he marched bareheaded 
in front of a corps of drummers and fifers before the 
garrison assembled for parade. I should like to say 
that be hung his head in shame, but the truth is the 
audacious fellow, when at the limits of the garrison, 
leaped into a carriage at the hack stand, pulled on a 
wig, and waved a hat, which his waiting friend handed 
him, as he drove out of his military life into that of a 
civilian. 

Occasionally the soldiers of a company rise in wratli 
over the obstinate determination of a soldier not to be 
clean, and ask leave to punish him themselves. When 
men ask permission, and the better men too, the offi- 
cers know that they will not carry the affair too far. 
A double line of men is formed to the stream, each one 
having a switch. The offender is prepared for his 
compulsory bath, and started down the line. It is an 
effectual cure for the slovenly. He returns clean, and 
convinced that it is best to keep so. 

But soldiers, clean or otherwise, camp women, offi- 
cers and their wives, the dogs, the pets, and even the in- 
telligent horses, soon were in a tremor of excitement, for 
orders had come to break camp, and march to Leaven- 
worth for the winter. Preparations went steadily on. In 
a few hours we were packed. The wagons were drawn 



RATTLESNAKES AS NEIGHBORS. 313 

up ready for tlie tents, and those the soldiers took down 
and stored away for the march. I sat at some distance 
from the row of tents, awaiting the bugle-call, " Boots 
and Saddles," while the eager and excited dogs raced 
hither and thither among the troopers, and the horses 
neighed and sniffed the fresh air. Looking back upon 
a deserted camp is not cheerful : the grass where the 
tents have stood is trampled, the trenches dug about 
them to let the water run off from the tent cut the 
ground into squares ; hay and rubbish are strewn where 
once it was so trim. Our little arbor in the tree looked 
lonely enough, and the heap of stones which had form- 
ed the foundation was bare and forlorn. The noises 
that had disturbed me all summer under these rocks 
were now about to be explained. I had attributed 
them to rats, to weasels, and, as the night advanced 
and fears increased, to almost supernatural causes, the 
sounds were so uncanny ; but no, it was only that a 
family, seeing something of domestic life above the 
floor, and being satisfied therewith, had established a 
hearth-stone of their own below ; but when the floor 
was removed, and daylight, with prospective storms, let 
in, a procession, consisting of a mother and seven little 
soft- furred children, walked out from underneath, to 
seek other quarters. How it happened that Mrs. Pole- 
cat and her progeny had not been discovered by our 
dogs remains a mystery. It is needless to say that no 
one disturbed them, or failed to give them permission 
to do as they wished, and one triumphant woman said : 
" There ! what did I tell you all the time ? There was 



314 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

something gnawing, rooting, squirming under our tent 
all summer." That was I. 

The officers who served with us that summer have 
had their service chronicled by a government that keeps 
records of brave men, but the courageous EUza and the 
faithful Henry ought to have a word. Eliza still looks 
as young as when we ate her good dinners on Big Creek, 
and though the wife of a colored lawyer in Ohio, she 
refers to our life out there as among her happiest 
hours. Henry is janitor in one of the public schools 
of Topeka, and I hear that his big, tender heart is open 
still to even the smallest child, for if he sees one run- 
ning down the street as the bell rings, and knows that 
he or she is likely to be marked late, he keeps on ring- 
ing till the delinquent has reached the door. He final- 
ly married his " Mandy," but the following account of 
his love passages with Eliza I venture to insert, to prove 
that Big Creek had a romance that summer, though 
neither the stream nor the romance '^ran smooth": 

" Miss Libbie, me and Eliza was mighty fond of each 
other, and off and on we was sparking ; but I couldn't 
say as w^e was always happy. When she went off down 
to Leavenworth that time, I begun to hear things she 
had said 'gainst me, and I got mad. The more I 
thought about it the madder I got. I concluded I'd 
go and kill her. I took an ole pistol of the ginnel's, 
and set to work to oil it, and get the rust off. It took 
me a right smart time; but I didn't get no ways cool 
a-doin' it. Then I says to Bishop " (the general's soldier), 
^'off-hand like, would he take keer of my horses. He 



RATTLESNAKES AS NEIGHBORS. 315 

said yes, and I started. When I got to Fort Harker 
I heerd more of Eliza's stories, and I biled right over. 
On the way down I heerd more and more, and when I 
reached the city of Leavenworth, thar I saw some col- 
ored folks we both knew, and such a pack of lies as 
she had told made me jest jiimpin' mad again. I went 
on out to whar she was staying, bound I'd kill her, and, 
Miss Libbie, if you'd believe it, the minute I sot eyes 
on her I forgot it all. I jest melted right down ; but 
pretty soon I fired up again, and I says, ' Miss Eliza 
Brown, I've cum pretty nigh onto two hundred miles 
purpose for to kill you.' She flared up, and asked, 
' Why V Then I tole her; but. Miss Libbie, you know 
how 'tis, I forgot again, and then we kissed and we fought 
and we loved and we fought and we loved and we kissed, 
and I jest put up the ol' horse-pistol for keeps." 

Eliza and Henry never married. This may be explain- 
ed on Henry's side by that old Virginia story of a colored 
swain who said, "Miss Loisa Cheers, I love you a heap, 
but I don't love you to marry." On Eliza's part it was 
possibly a case of " were t'other dear charmer away." 

As the bugles sent out the last notes of "Boots and 
Saddles," we guided our horses out of the bend that 
had sheltered us, and nearly drowned us besides, and 
looking back to the bit of land almost surrounded with 
trees, we felt as Henry did towards his Eliza — with all 
its faults we loved it still. We joined with the band 
in the regimental song, of return and many a brave 
heart leaped with joy and said, silently^ ^* Soon I shall 
be with the girl I left behind me." 



316 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 



THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME. 

The hour was sad I left the maid, 

A ling'ring farewell taking ; 
Her siglis and tears my steps delay'd — 

I thought her heart was breaking. 
In hurried words her name I bless'd, 

I breathed the vows that bind me, 
And to my heart in anguish press'd 

The girl I left behind me. 

Then to the East we bore away. 

To win a name in story, 
And there, where dawns the sun of day, 

There dawn'd our sun of glory : 
Both blaz'd in noon on Alma's height, 

When in the post assign'd me 
I shar'd the glory of that fight. 

Sweet girl I left behind me. 

Full many a name our banners bore 

Of former deeds of daring, 
But they were of the days of j^ore, 

la which we had no sharing ; 
But now our laurels freshly won 

With the old ones shall entwin'd be, 
Still worthy of our sires each son, 

Sweet girl I left behind me. 

The hope of final victory 

Within my bosom burning, 
Is mingling with sweet thoughts of thee 

And of my fond returning. 
But should I ne'er return again. 

Still worth thy love thou'lt find me ; 
Dishonor's breath shall never stain 

The name I'll leave behind me. 



THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME. 



317 



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318 



FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 



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THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME. 



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FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 




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322 



FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 



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days of yore, In which we had no shar - ing ; But 







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their rest. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

DANDY. 

There is still one character in mj story of our sum- 
mer camp who deserves a word, as, since the last chap- 
ter was written, he has gone to the heaven which we 
people who love animals believe is reserved for them. 
It is of our blithe, faithful, undaunted Dandy that I 
should like to tell you. 

IXiring the Wichita campaign in Kansas and the 
Indian Territory, in the winter of 1868 and 1869, five 
hundred horses were sent to the Seventh Cavalry to 
mount a portion of the regiment. General Custer was 
in command of the expedition, and the horses were 
passed in review in front of his tent. Among them 
he noticed a spirited bay, which he ordered detained at 
his tent, and, after trying him, decided that he would 
avail himself of the privilege given to officers, and buy 
him from the Government. The horse, he discovered, 
had good blood, though not perfectly proportioned, 



DANDY. 



325 



being too small. He was just within the height re- 
quired by the quartermaster's requisition ; but his fire, 
his promising powers of endurance, his sound condi- 
tion, made General Custer think that he would prove 
equal to the terrible marches, the exposure, and the in- 
sufficient forage to which a cavalry horse had to submit. 
He was given the name of " Dandy " on the spot, 
because of his spirited manner, and the little proud 
peacock airs he never forgot except when he slept. 




DANDY. 



Dandy had not been long in service before he was sub- 
jected to the roughest and hardest life. The soldiers' 
rations gave out at one time, and the troops lived on the 
flesh of mules and horses that had died from exhaustion. 
But Dandy's untiring nerve carried him through. He 



S26 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

grew tliiD from want of forage, but learned, with the 
otlier horses, to scrape the snow from the ground in the 
river valleys, to find little tufts of dried grass, and, fail- 
ing in this, gnawed the bark from the cottonwood-trees. 
IsTothing seemed to tire him : no day was so cold or so 
wet that it did not find Dandy full of good cheer. 

Test after test was tried on the plucky horse, and he 
never flagged. An all day's march in the winter, with 
the blinding snow and tiny particles of ice cutting his 
face, toiling through depressions in the ground where 
drifts had accumulated, tugging up declivities to be 
met on the summit with a keen icy wind that had 
swept unchecked over hundreds of miles of prairie — 
all this never took the dance out of his heels, or made 
his head droop with fatigue. It was this indomitable 
will that so endeared him to his master. He had a hard 
gait for a steady march. He never walked, but went 
on, year in and year out, with a little dancing trot that 
was most fatiguing. Still, this uncomfortable motion 
was made up for to General Custer by marvellous pow- 
ers of endurance and by exceeding good-humor through 
all vicissitudes. 

Our horses were such intimate companions on the 
plains that we found ourselves as anxious to be en rap- 
jpoH with them, and understand their humor, as with 
those of our friends beside whom we rode. Sometimes 
w^e divined as soon as we mounted that the animal under 
us was sulky or wilful or stubborn, and either we pos- 
sessed our souls in patience till the ill -humor passed 
away, or one, more irritable or nervous, fretted at the 



DANDY. 327 

exhibition of temper, took Lis horse out of the ranks, 
and the rest, watching him, said, "Kow So-and-so is 
going to have another ' waltz ' with that brute of his, 
but it's no good fighting anything so fi^endish." One 
can realize, then, what it was to know that there was 
no variation in the temper of an animal. Imagine any 
one awakening in the gray dawn to the sound of reveille 
in a cavalry camp, and, after an ice-cold bath, a luke- 
warm breakfast, stepping shrinkingly forth into chilly 
drizzle that the troopers declared had " come to stay." 
"What if all about were silent, or dulled by the cold 
and damp ? Was it not everything to be met by the 
dancing, joyous motion of a pair of nimble heels, and the 
softest, most affectionate eyes, while the head turned to 
rub itself against the arm or shoulder of one the animal 
loved? Let the elements do their worst — and they 
attempt every vagary on the plains — that indomitable 
will and sunshiny disposition of Dandy's triumiDhed 
over everything. It was therefore worth while to 
endure the little choppy motion, which would have 
been immensely tiresome to many, for the sake of 
knowing that no day's march could be so long, no 
storm so violent, as either to fatigue or depress the 
willing animal. There were those who said that no 
man, except one with the wonderful powers of endur- 
ance of General Custer, could have stood the gait. 

One of our best riders used to say that th^re was no 
worse suffering for a man than to ride a horse that re- 
fused to come down to a walk. Occasionally it fell to 
the lot of a soldier to draw from the Government a 



828 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

Lorse that had this fault. There was no appeaL The 
horse was purchased ; he was sound. J^o horse-trade 
could be effected with a citizen, because of the deep 
" U. S." branded on the thigh. Sometimes, after a 
campaign, an officer can enter a complaint, and ask 
to turn in some brute with an irredeemable fault to 
the Quartermaster's Department, to be condemned and 
sold ; but after a campaign was started, it meant a 
whole season of jogging misery to the unfortunate 
trooper who had fallen heir to such an animal. A 
cavalry column marches at the rate of four miles an 
hour, and the length of a day's journey varies from 
twenty-five to forty miles. After such torture going 
on month after month, the troopers would sometimes 
cry out in desperation, '' For God's sake shoot me, and 
leave me behind !" 

It was well that Dandy belonged to the command- 
ing officer of his regiment, for he could brook no 
horses going before him. If it was unavoidable, he 
was flecked with foam and quivering with impatience 
in a few moments. It was difficult to keep him be- 
side a horse ; he champed his bit, tossed his liead, and 
pulled furiously on the rein unless he was permitted 
to stretch his neck in advance of everything. Then 
he became quiet with conquest, and ambled on like a 
graceful Andalusian palfrey. 

'No greater test of Dandy's endurance could liave 
occurred than a winter's campaign. It was the first 
that the regiment had ever attempted at that season of 
the year. The success of the expedition reconciled 



DANDY. 329 

the men to the liardships ; but it was a fearful trial to 
the whole regiment, man and beast. After tltfe win- 
ter was ended, the Seventh Cavalry marched from the 
Indian Territory to Fort Hays, Kansas, to estabhsh a 
summer camp. The regiment, from that on, went up 
and down tlie State, as well as the adjoining Territories, 
for several seasons. On one of these marches, a num- 
ber of years after, when they were traversing a more 
settled portion of the State, a farmer met, and was 
about to pass, the column, when General Custer accost- 
ed him, asking him about the crops, the ravages of the 
grasshoppers, then such a pest, and of the growth of 
the country, in which he was genuinely interested. 
The farmer turned to ride with him a while, and finally, 
after eying Dandy sharply, he said : 

" Stranger, I'd like to en-quire, if it ain't no offence, 
where you got your boss ? It's a good un, no mistake." 

" You are right," replied the general. " He is as 
tough as a pine-knot, as willing and spirited as any 
horse I ever saw," And then he went on to tell him 
that he thought that he discovered some of these traits 
when he picked him out of hundreds of animals bought 
by the quartermaster for the regiment. 

*'"Well, sir," said the frontiersman, "that air boss 
once belonged to me. He's got good blood in him. 
I've got the name of some of his sires at home. I can 
never get over the selling of him ; but, you see, I got 
hard up, the grasshoppers ate my crops, and, while I was 
in a tight place, along cum a contractor, and I sold him 
for $140, the Government price. He was wuth a heap 



330 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

sight more ; but tlie ready money had to be got some- 
how, so I let him go." 

All General Custer could say was that he was sorry 
that he had lost him, but that hardly any price could 
tempt him to part with so good a campaigner. He was 
then five years old. 

Dandy became a great pet with his master. It was 
a serious affair to lose a horse on the march, for they 
could not be replaced, and consequently the utmost 
precautions were taken to lariat or hohble the animals 
when the march was over for the day. 

Dandy was often not tethered at all. As soon as 
the general selected camp he unsaddled and unbridled 
him, and turned him loose to graze until the command 
came up to pitch the tents. He took a roll or so on 
the grass, and grazed about the tent until it was time 
to saddle him next morning for the day's march. He 
loved the dogs, and permitted all sorts of familiari- 
ties from them. Sometimes the stag-hounds, that make 
such tremendous leaps, would spring entirely over him 
in their antics. He played with them, nipping their 
skin to provoke a frolic, and no unexpected attack of 
the venturesome dogs was ever met by him with any- 
thing but the utmost good-nature. He was a picture 
in the midst of the pack of forty, all barking, growling, 
scuffling. The grave fox-hounds pressed about his legs 
in affection, looking up with luminous, expressive eyes. 
The stag-hounds made wild springs in the air, catching 
his mane or tail, or jumping to kiss his nose. He tossed 
his head, snorted, pranced with delight at all this atten- 



DANDY. 331 

tion, set his feet down with excessive caution for fear 
of hurting a puppy, and was capable of showing more 
affection in the few mute ways left open to him than 
people who have the human voice and expressive feat- 
ures at their disposal. 

The soldier who took care of him Was the strangest 
contrast to the whole party — dashing cavalryman, met- 
tlesome horse, and rollicking dogs. Indeed, he seemed 
80 much out of place in a cavalry camp that I wanted al- 
ways to ticket him " Lost, strayed, or stolen," He was 
slow of speech, thought, and movement, but in affec- 
tionate fidelity he was to be trusted even above the gayer 
and more active trooper. The man lived in a world by 
himself, with little in common with his comrades, go- 
ing along a dull, beaten path at snail's pace, while all 
the wild world of a cavalry camp, with its incessant ex- 
citements, its exhilaration, its enthusiasm, sung, shouted, 
and careered about him. Nothing moved him to a 
laugh ; and if he had whistled I should have sent for 
the surgeon, thinking he had gone daft. I have a pho- 
tograph of him standing between and holding with each 
hand the bridle of Yic, the general's thorough-bred — 
which was shot in the battle of the Little Big Horn, 
June 25, 1876 — and Dandy. The dogs stand or lie about 
the group ; and the soldier, with his solemn face, looks 
as if any remark England or America might make 
about " duty " to him would be superfluous. His hori- 
zon encompassed two horses, some dogs, and one yel- 
low-haired officer. He may have had a past — a bald spot 
on his no longer youthful head spoke of one — but no ref- 



332 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

erence was made to it ; nor did he seem to wish for a fut- 
ure in which Dandy, Yic, Blucher, Tuck, and Cardigan 
(his favorite dogs) and their master were not inchided. 

Dandy enjoyed a hunt above everything. The gen- 
eral could run down a deer with Yic, and for a spirited, 
quick dash the thorough-bred was best ; but Dandy was 
the old love, and he made such demonstrations of de- 
light over the preparations for the chase that he grew 
to seem almost human. The officers generally gath- 
ered before our quarters, and the horn was sounded as 
a signal for the kennel gate to be opened. Out swooped 
the pack, tumbling over each other in their haste, tear- 
ing around the house to the horses to have a few pre- 
paratory interchanges of animal language. The order- 
lies holding the horses let them rear and paw the earth ; 
and in the din of the barking, whining dogs, tuning 
their voices to the horn, the laughter and jovial voices 
of the officers, the call from the windows and galleries 
of the women giving a good " send off," there Avas not 
an intelligible word. From all this wild scramble, in 
which dogs, men, and horses seemed involved in a hope- 
less tangle, the leader extricated himself, and Dandy 
proudly took the advance. He curveted, danced side- 
wise, tossed his head and mane, and evinced by every 
motion that he was born to lead. 

Then, when the real work began, he proved that if 
he was a dandy there was good stuff in him ; for he 
fell to the duty of the hour with a skill and determina- 
tion that made his master, each time he returned from 
the chase, pat his neck as he leaped to the ground, and 



DANDY. 333 

say, "There never was such another horse created." 
The cotton-wood timber along the Missouri Eiver was 
in places densely embedded in underbrush, and it took 
infinite patience to wend one's way through the thicket ; 
but Dandy was capital at this. His nerves were in the 
wildest state when the deer was spotted. 

After the day's sport was ended the horn sounded 
from down the valley, and soon the same exuberant 
throng poured into the garrison, the dogs leaping and 
barking still, the fox-hounds trotting sedately on, cov- 
ered with burrs, porcupine quills, or cactus, their legs 
incased in mud, their rigid tails bleeding from the 
sharp thrashing through the thickets ; still they gave 
tongue with the deep notes of their species. The 
horses of the hunters were usually fagged and glad to 
hear stable - call ; but darting wp to the gallery came 
the undaunted Dandy, sometimes bearing on his back, 
behind the saddle, the game, though the deer was gen- 
erally too large to admit of using any but a led-horse 
to transport it. 

If in our rides about the post we saw a gray coyote 
skulking along, hiding in the divides or sneaking his 
solitary way back to his lair, Dandy spied him also, and 
begged for a run. He trembled Avith the ardor of a 
hunter; and it hurt him to see game disappear and he 
not chase it. He knew how to gather himself and turn 
like a flash when the jack-rabbit " put down its fourth 
leg" and doubled on its pursuers. It required such 
agile legs as Dandy's to circumvent the active hare. 
His lope was too short to take him over the country 



334 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

quickly enough to overtake an antelope, but lie could be 
almost motionless for the moment of loading and firinor. 

In another chapter of this book I have described 
Dandy's skill and enthusiasm in buffalo-hunting, and 
need not repeat it here. 

There were many obstructions to smooth going even 
on the apparently level plains. The buffalo wallow 
was one. Dandy, coming on these wallows full tilt, 
learned, if he was going too violently, to veer one side, 
to lea]) in and out like a cat. The buffalo trails to 
water, running in four or more parallel lines, he cleared 
with a bound. These also are deep ruts, hard and stub- 
born to the hoof, that have been baked by the sun as 
is the wallow. He picked his way through a prairie- 
dog village unguided, and rarely did his hoof sink in 
the subterraneous traps. His best leaping was over the 
cactus -beds. Tliese he took with a bound. Dandy 
was sometimes lent to the wife of one of our officers, 
and she rode him out to the herd of Government cattle 
where her husband went on duty. She writes me, " I 
always started without my stirrup ; for it * was up and 
away ' with Dandy, and I had to find foothold as best 
I could afterwards." 

She was an excellent horsewoman ; but her surprise 
when Dandy took a huge cactus-bed with one leap was 
something to remember. She said to General Custer, 
'' He shall not catch me again napping ;" and he shook 
and chuckled with amusement, for he had purposely 
omitted telling her of Dandy's little caper, knowing she 
would be equal to the situation. 



DANDY. 335 

The winter's campaign liad been a trying begin- 
ning to Dandy's career, but the long, hot summers that 
followed were a fearful strain on any horse. There 
was always much trouble about water on the plains. 
After the rainy season passed the streams went dry, 
the pools in the buffalo wallows and in the hollows 
had disappeared, and the whole day of a hot march 
was spent without so much as a look at water, with 
possibly the tantalizing mirage floating before their 
weary eyes all the time. The strongest animals became 
fagged, their heads drooped with exhaustion, and some 
dropped by the way to die; still the valiant Dandy 
kept up. 

I do not know whence came all that inexhaustible 
spring of vitality. In the letters from old friends with 
us on the frontier that I have received regarding Dan- 
dy during the past week each one says, " I never saw 
him walk." He was in all the campaigns of the regi- 
ment for years — in the first Yellowstone campaign, 
in the Black Hills Expedition, and in the last campaign 
into the Yellowstone in 1876. As they were starting 
that spring General Custer said : 

" I must take an extra horse this summer in addition 
to Yic, for Dandy must be favored a little ; he begins 
to show a little let-down in strength." 

In the battle of the Little Big Horn, June 25th, he 
was with the led-horses and was wounded. After the 
battle he was sent home to me in Monroe, Mich., and 
I gave him to my father Custer. The horse, so iden- 
tified with the three sons he had lost, seemed to be a 



336 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

wonderful comfort to him. I was afraid to have him 
mount him, for he was then over seventy, and Dandy 
required every one to be very active who attempted to 
use him to the saddle. His journey of over fifteen hun- 
dred miles by boat and by cars had not tamed him, 
and I begged Father Custer to let an officer then with 
us at least ride him round the block. At last he yield- 
ed, and off Dandy tore through the quiet streets to the 
amazement of the town. The old gentleman was un- 
moved. He said, " Daughter, I can ride him ; there's 
nothing vicious about him." And he was riglit. It 
is my belief that he had been studying up his future 
master. He let him mount leisurely, and seemed in- 
stantly to tame down in gait and manner. Our father 
Custer was rather bent in walking, but there was no 
perceptible curve to his back in riding. He sat his 
horse splendidly. Except for his white hair and flow- 
ing, snowy beard, one could hardly imagine so many 
years had elapsed since he rode after the hounds in his 
early Virginia and Maryland days. 

After leaving the army. Dandy never surprised you 
by unexpected moves, and it was not necessary to 
watch for sudden veering to the right and left. From 
the life of a gay, dashing cavalry steed he dropped into 
a steady-going family horse. The one marked evidence 
of the old life was displaced when our father Custer 
took him out for parades. It soon became a custom 
for the towns-people to invite the old gentleman and 
Dandy to head the temperance processions, the Fourth 
of July celebrations, or any sort of parade the town 



DANDY. 337 

might inaugurate. He and Dandy were invited to be 
the guests of Michigan at the State Fair. The invi- 
tation was worded, " For Father Custer and his horse 
Dandj." They led the grand procession that was un- 
der the guidance of the marslials of the day. Dandy 
never for one moment forgot his part. He sidled and 
ambled and pranced in a gentle sort of teeter, suitable 
for his aged master, but he scorned to walk like an or- 
dinary every-day horse. 

The etiquette of the past generation was to attend 
all funerals, and Dandy's old master believed that one's 
friends should be just as carefully attended to the grave 
as to the altar. Dandy therefore fell into the slow, 
solemn line, and subdued his step to the occasion. His 
politics never varied, owing to an unswerving quality 
in his old master. During the last political campaign 
his tossing head waved a bandanna through the streets 
of our town. If it blew in his eyes and interfered with 
his sight he never showed it, but bore the badge as if 
it had really been what his owner wanted it to be, a 
plume of triumph. 

Whenever I went home to visit them my father Cus- 
ter asked, as soon as the welcome was over ; " Daugh- 
ter, would you like to see Dandy ? If you would, sit 
by the front window, and he will be around." When 
they appeared. Dandy did all the kittening possible in 
the way of little starts and flourishes, affecting coltish 
airs, and pretending timidity which was purely ficti- 
tious. This pleased the old gentleman, and he called 
out, as he waved his stove-pipe hat, " You see he isn't 
22 



338 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

an old man's horse yet." I could not help praising 
my father Custer's firm seat in the saddle, so remarka- 
ble in a man between seventy and eighty. My gentle 
mother Custer, fearing I might plant the seeds of pride 
even in an old man, said, " Don't say too much to him, 
daughter; old men might get foolish about their rid- 
ing." But, nevertheless, my home-coming did not 
seem complete without the dress parade in front of 
the house. 

During the later years my father Custer has lived on 
a farm near Monroe, with General Custer's only broth- 
er. Dandy, coming in and out of town every day, was 
obliged to cross a bridge over the Kiver Raisin. Not 
for worlds would he go over without a little panto- 
mime of sham fright. He minced and hesitated and 
shied the least bit in the world, arched his neck as 
if in surprise, and with all these skippy ways looked 
throuffh the cracks of the boards as if it was the first 
time that he had ever seen them. Hearing Father 
Custer's voice, he instantly came down to every-day 
manners. All the timid girls who were afraid of other 
horses were willing to go with Father Custer ; and 
many a happy mile has Dandy carried them through 
the fragrant roads and fields about the " City of 
Flowers." 

Even until tliis year it has been Father Custer's 
custom to drive off to the home of one of General Cus- 
ter's staff, and the thirty miles in a day seemed as noth- 
ing to the two veterans. For weeks at a time Dandy 
gambolled over a rich pasture, kicking up his heels like 



DANDY. 339 

a colt when let into it, or made himself comfortable 
without being tied in a box-stall, while his master was 
enjoying all the hospitality the house afforded. Re- 
turning home, they soon started for a forty-mile drive 
in another direction. 

It has been a common sight in Monroe for years 
past to see Dandy quietly standing beside the street 
to allow his white-headed owner to dally by the way- 
side and carry on a hot political discussion. There 
were too many people in the town whom our father 
Custer thought needed to be set right in their views, 
especially as an election drew near. He would allow 
no one to feed or groom his horse, and in consequence 
of too many oats the graceful proportions of youth 
were fast losing themselves in a real aldermanic out- 
line ; but I could not convince our father Custer that 
it was not a line of beauty. lYlien he approached the 
stable the horse knew his step and whinnied ; and he 
had the same welcome as he came out to get in the 
carriaare. The cars stand for a time on the track run- 
ning through our town, and Father Custer once drove 
Dandy's nose almost into the side of a car. In alarm 
I asked if he intended to drive over or creep under ; 
but he quietly answered that he wanted me to see that 
the horse was not afraid of anything with him. 

^' The boys," he added, " had hard work to hold him, 
but he knows me ; and, daughter, I don't know how I 
could have lived without that horse. He's been a com- 
fort to me for thirteen long years." 

On a recent Sunday these two comrades went off up 



340 FOLLOWING THE GUIDON. 

the Raisin for a little time, and all was well. Life 
still held one joy for the two — they could go out into 
the sunshine together, for after all the bereavement of 
life God's beautiful world remained. 

On Monday no whinny of greeting met him as he un- 
did the stable door. For the first time in all his twenty- 
six years Dandy was ill. All the simple remedies of 
the farm were administered without avail. Two vet- 
erinary surgeons failed to help the suffering beast. He 
was still the same plucky Dandy. As he never showed 
a sign of heat, cold, thirst, or hunger in his old soldiering 
days, so now he met the suffering bravely, only turn- 
ing his head around to show his appreciation of the 
presence of the family about him. As General Cus- 
ter's brother left the stall the poor beast walked after 
him, rubbing his head against him in affection. The 
children hardly left him. The mother, with all the 
maternal tenderness of heart, begged to stay all night 
in the stable, saying that it seemed cruel to leave him 
alone. 

All day Tuesday our father Custer never left him ; 
and weeping with grief at his suffering, and the sorrow 
at recalling all his past, the old man sat hour after hour 
brushing off the flies and caring for this beloved link 
with the past. 

At night the family went out at twelve, and poor 
Dandy followed them ; and looking over the half-door 
of his stall, they saw for the last time his pathetic eyes, 
dimmed but full of devotion. At four in the morning 
they went again, and he had fallen, the straw scarcely 



DANDY. 341 

disturbed about bim, sbowing tbat be bad remained 
standing until tbe moment wben, tliinking be beard 
tbe bugle-call " Taps," liis ligbt went out forever. 

Tbougb tbis veteran bad no muffled sound of drum, 
no vollej fired at bis grave, still it was a solemn bury- 
ing. All day tbe boy wbo loved bim dug at bis grave 
in tbe orcbard, and tbe motber and cbildren, suspend- 
ing work and play, vibrated between tbe bouse and tbe 
field wbere tbe "eartbly bed" of tbeir favorite was 
being prepared. 

Tbere, every year, Nature, witb all ber fidelity, will 
bury our dear borse in a rosy sbower of blossoms wbicb 
tbe apple-tree scatters witb tbe least breatb of tbe sum- 
mer wind. 

Tbe silvery bead of an old man of eigbty-tbree bends 
lower tbis August day, and it is bard to take up bis 
few remaining years witbout bis comrade, tbe comfort 
of bis bereft life. 



THE END. 



BOOTS AND SADDLES; 

Or, Life in Dakota with General Custer. By Mrs. Eliz- 
abeth B. Custer. With Portrait of General Custer, 
pp. 312. 12mo, Cloth, $1 50. 

A book of adventure is interesting reading, especially when it is all true, 
as is the case with " Boots and Saddles." * * * She docs not obtrude the 
fact that sunshine and solace went with her to tent and fort, but it in- 
heres in her narrative none the less, and as a consequence " these simple 
annals of our daily life," as she calls them, are never dull nor uninterest- 
ing. — Evangelist, N. Y. 

Mrs. Custer's book is in reality a bright and sunny sketch of the life 
of her late husband, who fell at the battle of " Little Big Horn." * * * 
After the war, when General Custer was sent to the Indian frontier, his 
wife was of the party, and she is able to give the minute story of her 
husband's varied career, since she was almost always near the scene of 
hia adventures. — Brooklyn Union. 

We have no hesitation in saying that no better or more satisfactory life 
of General Custer could have been written. Indeed, we may as well 
speak the thought that is in us, and say plainly that we know of no bio- 
graphical work anywhere which we count better than this. * * * Surely the 
record of such experiences as these will be read with that keen interest 
which attaches only to strenuous human doings ; as surely we are right 
in saying that such a story of truth and heroism as that here told will 
take a deeper hold upon the popular mind and heart than any work of 
fiction can. For the rest, the narrative is as vivacious and as lightly and 
trippingly given as that of any novel. It is enriched in every chapter with 
illustrative anecdotes and incidents, and here and there a little life story 
of pathetic interest is told as an episode. — N. Y. Commercial Advertiser. 

It is a plain, straightforward story of the author's life on the plains of 
Dakota. Every member of a Western garrison will want to read this 
book ; every person in the East who is interested in Western life will 
want to read it, too ; and every girl or boy who has a healthy appetite 
for adventure will be sure to get it. It is bound to have an army of read- 
ers that few authors can expect. — Philadelphia Press. 

These annals of daily life in the army are simple, yet interesting, and 
underneath all is discerned the love of a true woman ready for any sacri- 
fice. She touches on themes little canvassed by the civilian, and makes a 
volume equally redolent of a loving devotion to an honored husband, and 
attractive as a picture of necessary duty by the soldier. — Commonwealth^ 
Boston. 

Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, N. Y. 

fl^ nAEPEB & Beothkrs loill Send the above, work hy mail, postage prepaid, to any 
part of the United States or Canada, on receipt of the price. 



By CAPT. CHARLES KING, 



CAMPAIGNING WITH CROOK, AND STORIES OF 
ARMY LIFE. Post 8vo, Cloth. {In Press.) 

A WAR-TIME WOOING. Illustrated by R. F. Zogbaum. 
pp. iv., 19G. Post 8vo, Cloth, $1 00. 

BETWEEN THE LINES. A Story of the War. Illustrated 
by Gilbert Gaul. pp. iv., 312. Post 8vo, Cloth, $1 25. 

In all of Captain King's stoiles the author holds to lofty ideals of man- 
hood and womanhood, and inculcates the lessons of honor, generosity, 
courage, and self-control. — Literary World, Boston. 

The vivacity and charm which signally distinguish Captain King's 
pen. ... He occupies a position in American literature entirely his own. 
. . . His is the literature of honest sentiment, pure and tender. — X. Y. Press. 

A romance by Captain King is always a pleasure, because he has so 
complete a mastery of the subjects with which he deals. . . . Captain 
King has few rivals in his domain. , . . The general tone of Captain King's 
stories is highly commendable. The heroes are simple, frank, and sol- 
dierly ; the heroines are dignified and maidenly in the most unconvention- 
al situations. — Epoch, N. Y. 

All Captain King's stories are full of spirit and with the true ring about 
them. — Pluladelphia Item. 

Captain King's stories of army life are so brilliant and intense, they 
have such a ring of true experience, and his characters are so lifelike and 
vivid that the announcement of a new one is always received with pleas- 
ure. — Neio Haveii Palladium. 

Captain King is a delightful story-teller. — Washington Post. 

In the delineation of war scenes Captain King's style is crisp and vig. 
orous, inspiring in the breast of the reader a thrill of genuine patriotic fer- 
vor. — Boston Comtnonwealth. 

Captain King is almost without a rival in the field he has chosen. . . . 
His style is at once vigorous and sentimental in the best sense of that 
word, so that his novels are pleasing to young men as well as young 
women. — Pittsburgh Bulletin. 

It is good to think that there is at least one man who believes that all 
tlie spirit of romance and chivalry has not yet died out of the world, and 
that there are as brave and honest hearts to-day as there were in the 
days of knights and paladins. — Philadelphia Record. 



Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York. 

t^Bf Either of the above toorks sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the 
United States,Canada, or Mexico, on receipt of the price. 



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